Leaders to liberty

LEADERS TO
LI B ERTY

MARY H .WADE

NY PUBLIC LIBRARY THE BRANCH LIBRARIES

3 3333 08119 6996

£

LEADERS TO LIBERTY

Albert I, King of Belgium

Leaders to Liberty

BY
MARY H. WADE

With Illustrations

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BOSTON

LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY

1919

Copyright, 1919,
BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.

Att rights reserved

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Published, September, 1919

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CONTENTS

PAGE

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE i

Lover of His People
MARSHAL JOFFRE 63

The "Father" of the French Soldiers

JOHN JOSEPH PERSHING in

The American Leader to Victory

SIR DOUGLAS HAIG 161

The Man of Iron Will
FERDINAND FOCH 194

The Savior of the Allies

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

ALBERT I, KING OF BELGIUM . . . Frontispiece
GENERAL PERSHING AND MARSHAL JOFFRE . 64
FIELD MARSHAL SIR DOUGLAS HAIG . . 162
MARSHAL FERDINAND FOCH 194

LEADERS TO LIBERTY

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE

Lover of His People

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! sounded the big
guns of the city of Brussels. It was the
evening of the eighth day of April, 1875.

Every one stopped to listen - - rich folks
and poor folks, big folks and little folks -
to the booming of the guns. It told them
something very interesting had happened —
that a child had just been born to the royal
family of Belgium. Moreover, as they soon
learned, the tiny newcomer was a prince,
the second nephew of their King, Leopold II.

Of course, the good parents of little
Albert Leopold Marie Meinrad, for so he
was called, were made very happy by his
coming. Albert's father, the brother of the

King, was the Count of Flanders and a

i

2 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

tender, kind-hearted man who loved learn-
ing. His books were so precious to him
that he spent a large part of each day in
his library. In this library a whole mile
of shelves was used to hold his treasures!

Albert's mother took delight in all beauti-
ful things — music and fine paintings and
good books, as well as the lovely sights
Dame Nature could show her in the ever-
moving waters of the sea, in the rich Belgian
meadows in which tall grasses and dainty
wild flowers nodded cheerily, in the glorious
sunsets, and in the blue sky with its ever-
changing cloud-children.

At first the Count had lived with his
Countess in a wing of King Leopold's palace.
Afterwards, they moved into a home spe-
cially fitted up for them; and here, in the
Palace of the Rue de la Regence, their
children were born. First came Prince
Baudoin; then twin princesses, one of
whom soon died; after that, the Princess
Josephine; and last of all, the little son
who would some day be called by his people,
"Our Soldier King, Albert the Brave."

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 3

But this is getting ahead of our story.

Albert was a happy boy, but so quiet that
at first people did not notice him very much.
He studied his lessons faithfully. He also
spent much time in finding things out for
himself, as he was interested in everything
he saw. There were the railway trains
with the wonderful engines that made them
move so swiftly. There were the steam-
boats speeding along the seacoast. There
were all sorts of machines with strange
workings. Altogether, the world appeared
a delightful puzzle to the seemingly quiet
child with the active mind.

Many a story did the little prince hear
of what had happened in the long-ago to
his country. There was the famous Battle
of the Golden Spurs; there was the Siege of
Liege, when six hundred brave men gave
their lives to save the city from the out-
rages of Charles the Bold of Burgundy;
there was the tale of the noble citizens who
fought Prince Ferdinand of Holland in the
streets of the city of Brussels. Never had
the Belgians been willing to be slaves.

LEADERS TO LIBERTY

When the young prince thought of this his
fair cheeks must have flushed and his kind
blue eyes sparkled.

'They never will be slaves/' he must also
have thought with pride.

Though the boy's father spent much time
with his books, yet he and his beautiful wife
gave two hours of each day to their chil-
dren. They felt that the best of nurses
and teachers could not fill their place. They
watched Albert's studies and talked with
him about his sports.

Sunday was the best day of the whole
week, because then the good Count and
Countess took long walks with Albert and
his brother and sister. Sometimes they
wandered through the lovely parks of
Brussels. Sometimes they went out into
the country near-by, where they met many
other children, both rich and poor, also
out for a holiday walk with their parents.

Then, when dinner time drew near, the
young prince went with his family to the
King's palace to dine with him and the
Queen Marie Henriette. Many other times

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 5

also the boy went to the grand palace. Of-
ten he was allowed to join other guests
who had been invited there to listen to the
music the Queen played on her gilded
harp and to hear the singing of the great
General Brunell.

Prince Albert did not stay in Brussels all
the year round, because he had several
other beautiful homes. One of these was
among the noble Ardennes Mountains.
Another was in the country at Hasli-Horn.
A third was at the Chateau of Les Amerois,
where the lad spent six joyous weeks every
summer.

Such a big company as there was in the
household during this summer holiday!
Besides Albert's own family there were
uncles and aunts and cousins in plenty.
Among the guests were the Queens of Por-
tugal and of Saxony, and there were princes,
too, besides Albert and his brother Baudoin.
The ways of royalty were largely set aside
during this vacation time, and the older
folks joined in the games of the little ones.
There was much fun and frolicking.

6 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

The fresh air blew freely about the Cha-
teau because it stood on a high hill above
the old, old town of Bouillon. Albert could
look down from this summer home on a river
winding far below - - then off to distant
hills covered with tall pine trees. If he
should climb to the summit of a certain hill
in the distance he could see the coast of
France, his country's neighbor. Belgium
was only a tiny country, after all. But the
spirit of her people made her seem strong
and big to the little prince who loved and
admired her.

The Chateau was surrounded by a wide,
beautiful park where the children played
to their hearts' content. A chapel had been
built here, where the children worshiped
with their parents. In its stained-glass
windows Albert could look at the pictures
of the patron saints of his family. Among
these was Saint Albert whose name he
bore.

The park was full of delightful surprises.
There were gardens and lovely groves in
whose cool shade Albert could play with

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 7

comfort on the hottest summer days. There
were greenhouses filled with rare plants,
and streams singing merrily as they leaped
down over the rocks on the hillside. The
park was free to any who might wish to
enter. As the royal children frolicked about,
they often looked up to see the poorest
people of the neighboring country making
their way along the paths to the Chateau.
No doubt they were coming to ask help of
the noble Count and Countess. Perhaps
they needed money to pay their rent. Per-
haps their little ones were sick and suffer-
ing. Never were they refused help. But
some of these people \vere too old to climb
up the hillside, or were too shy or proud to
ask help. Albert's parents hunted them
out and carried them gifts of what they most
needed.

There was a letter box at the Chateau
unlike any of which you may have heard.
It stood ready to receive the letters of little
children who felt free to ask help of Albert's
parents and knew this help would not be
refused. Thousands of such letters were

8 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

written and answered during Albert's child-
hood and youth.

Festivals were held at Les Amerois during
the summer vacation. The people in the
village below were invited to these, and
great was the frolicking at such times.
There were games and feasting; and songs
were sung by the village children dressed
in their holiday clothes. And there were
lotteries in which every one drew a prize!

The servants at the Chateau had their
special holidays when the Count and Count-
ess, with their royal guests, shared their
games in the big outdoors. Merry indeed
were those summers when Albert was a boy
at Les Amerois.

Though Albert had delightful vacations in
which he could be as idle as he wished,
there were months in which he studied hard.
There was English to learn, besides French
and other languages. There were the great
writers with whom he must become well
acquainted ; there were lessons in philosophy
and religion to be mastered.

Albert was not content, however, with the

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 9

studies his parents chose for him. He
wished besides to understand the workings
of the great inventions of the world. So,
through his own desire, he studied engi-
neering.

In course of time he even acted as the
engineer of a railway train to be sure he
knew just how to drive it through the
country. He also learned to drive an
automobile so well that he could travel over
the roads with the speed of the wind, with-
out the slightest accident ever befalling
him.

When Albert was scarcely sixteen years
old a black cloud swept over his happy
home. He was taken quite ill with a
dangerous kind of catarrh. His two sisters
caught the disease.

Fortunately both of them got well, but
a great sorrow was at hand. Prince Bau-
doin, catching the disease last, became
very ill, and four days afterwards the
wisest physicians in the land said, 'We
have done all we can. The young prince is
dying." Greatly did the loving parents

10 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

grieve over the loss of this older son. The
whole country grieved with them. It was
not an ordinary loss, because all had looked
upon Prince Baudoin as the next king of
Belgium. King Leopold's only son had
died many years ago, so this oldest nephew
would be the heir to his kingdom.

But now that Baudoin was dead, who
would take his place? Who, indeed, but
his young brother, the shy, quiet Albert?

Was the young prince puffed up by the
thought of his being a king by-and-by?
Not at all! He must study all the harder
now. He must learn all he could of the art
of war, so that, if his country were ever in
danger, he might be able to defend her.
He must get acquainted with the ways of
his people, the poor workingmen as well
as the rich lords, so he would know best
how to govern them.

'He had better start on his military
training at once/" decided Albert's parents;
and his uncle, the King, agreed with them.
So, one day soon afterwards, the tall, thin,
awkward youth, with the color coming and

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 11

going in his cheeks, went with the King to
the Belgian Military School at Brussels.

The King was a grand-looking man.
Standing before the teachers and students,
he introduced his nephew with lively words.
Now and then he "poked fun," as we say,
at his nephew, hoping in this way to make
the students feel at ease with him and forget
that he was to be their future ruler. Of
course, the young military students laughed
at these sallies, and Albert blushed.

After the King had gone away, however,
the students felt shy about treating the
prince like one of themselves. They were,
mostly, fellowfs of middle-class families.
Little did they know of the ways of royal
people. And here was the future king of
their country set down in their midst!
How could they help feeling shy at first?

Before long, however, Albert made them
understand that he wished them to treat
him like any other of their mates. Yes,
in playtime he was even willing to be a
laughingstock; so many a joke was played
on him, and he was given a nickname which

12 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

his school friends remember and smile over
to this day. The uniform he wore was the
same as theirs. He ate the same food as
they did. His parents.allowed him only a
small amount of spending money. No
doubt he often wished he had more, because
he was a generous youth and many a time
would have liked to buy sweeties and
cigarettes for the fellows who could not
afford to get them for themselves. Before
long every one in the school had come to
like the young prince.

His teachers were proud of him because
he did so well in his studies and acted in all
ways as a true gentleman should.

"There is much yet to learn before I am
fitted to be a king/3 the young prince de-
cided when he had finished his course at
the military school and his later training in
the army.

He felt, you see, that he must know every-
thing possible that would help him in gov-
erning a kingdom and in dealing with other
countries.

Besides, there were many people in Bel-

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 13

gium who were very poor. Albert's heart
was full of pity for them and the wish to
help them. Had not his father and mother
always worked for the poor? He, too,
must help them, not only now in a small
way, but by and by when he should have
riches of his own and the power of a
king.

In order to learn everything possible
along different lines Prince Albert drew
about him the leading men of his country:
the wisest generals versed in war; men
who had traveled and seen much of the
world; men who were learned in books;
and those who had studied the best ways of
improving the conditions of the people.

But it was not enough for the young
prince to hear from others about the ways of
his own and other countries. He must see
things for himself. So, after his training
in the army was finished, he set out on
travels to different parts of the world.

One of the first places he visited was the
United States of America. He felt sure he
could learn much in this land of ours.

14 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

Consequently, when he was twenty-four
years old, he sailed across the Atlantic to
find out all he could about the people he
already admired very much.

There was no pomp or show in his coming.
He would not allow it.

' I cannot go about freely if every one is
looking at me as the future King of Bel-
gium/3 he had decided. No, he wished
the Americans to think of him only as the
nephew of Leopold II ; fully enough honor
would be given him in that light, he was
sure. So he went freely about the country,
now stopping in one place, now in another.
Wherever he went, people said, 'What a
kindly young man and what a gentle man!
Why, he is as quiet and simple in his man-
ners as any plain citizen of this United
States."

'How interested he is in whatever we
can show him!' the thoughtful said to
each other. They were pleased because
the young prince was eager to learn, and
this cannot be said of as many people as we
might think.

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 15

Prince Albert was entertained in many
beautiful homes. He went to the White
House where the President and the 'Lead-
ing Lady of the Land' made him most
welcome. He learned how the head of the
American Government lived and attended
to his duties, and how Congress made laws
and carried them out.

All these things were interesting. But
probably the royal guest cared most to see
what Americans had been doing to make
their country powerful. So he traveled
through the West with Mr. James J. Hill,
one of the greatest railroad men in the world.
He saw for himself what Mr. Hill had done
in opening up vast stretches of country
where people could live with comfort and
keep in touch with other people many thou-
sands of miles away.

'I must also see the workings of some of
America's great factories," Prince Albert
had decided. Accordingly, he visited the
biggest mills in Massachusetts where cloth
was woven with the greatest skill. He
wrent to the Baldwin Locomotive W7orks in

16 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

Pennsylvania, where his keen blue eyes
watched the building of engines that would
draw millions of people on their journeys
across the continent.

The young traveler was not satisfied till
he had gone down into some coal mines.
It was a 'great lark," as boys would say,
to dress himself as a miner and descend into
the darkness, and he enjoyed it greatly.
As he went in and out among the grimy
workers, probably few of them knew that
this gay-hearted, earnest young fellow watch-
ing them at their work would in a few more
years be a king. Nor did any one dream
in those days that he would sometime be
more than king - - far more, because the
title is not to be compared with that of
hero — one of the greatest heroes, more-
over, the world has ever known.

When Prince Albert returned to Belgium
he was not ready to settle down because
there were still many other countries he
wished to visit.

Accordingly, the very next year he made
a trip to Germany. Among other places

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 17

he stopped in the beautiful city of Munich
where he visited the duke, Charles Theo-
dore. This duke was a very good man
who had become famous as a physician
and had given a great deal of time to the
study of the eyes. He used his knowledge
not to gain riches, but to help any people,
no matter how poor they were, whose eyes
were in need of help.

Now this kind-hearted duke had lovely
daughters who had been trained in hospitals
so that they might help him in his work.
One of these was the Duchess Elizabeth, a
young girl with the sweetest of smiles, the
simplest of manners, and a loving heart for
those who were poor or suffering.

Can you not guess what happened when
Prince Albert, who was himself the friend
of all poor and unhappy people, met the
Duchess Elizabeth? He fell in love with
her, of course. And she returned his love
very quickly.

Thus it came to pass that the news soon
reached Belgium that the prince's heart had
been won by the fair young Elizabeth of

18 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

Bavaria. Great was the rejoicing in both
countries.

A few months afterwards - - it was on
Tuesday, the second day of October, 1900 —
the city of Munich was all astir. To begin
with, it was the day set apart for the great
national feast. But this was not alone
the reason why the streets were filled with
crowds of happy and excited people in
holiday dress. The wedding of the loved
duchess to the future king of Belgium was
to take place on this holiday, and all were
waiting and watching for a sight of the
happy pair.

On Monday, the day before the wedding
took place, the royal guest from Belgium
appeared publicly before the eyes of the
Bavarians for the first time. The city gave
itself up to merriment, and a grand dinner
was served in the palace. That evening a
great Betrothal Feast was spread for the
people before the palace-home of the fair
Elizabeth. The thirty singing societies of
Munich gathered there, each singer holding
a lighted torch. A military band played

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 19

while they sang. As their voices rang out
through the soft evening air, the watching
crowds saw the balcony of the palace be-
come suddenly radiant with light. There,
in the center, were two figures- -the Duch-
ess Elizabeth and her lover, Prince Albert.
They were most beautiful, the tall, noble
youth and the delicate maiden beside him.
He was dressed in the uniform of his regi-
ment, and on his breast was the cordon of
St. Hubert, lately given him by the Regent
of Bavaria. She who was next day to be
his bride was fair to look upon. Her
cheeks were flushed with happiness; her
rich brown hair was crowned with diamonds.
An ermine mantle was wrapped about her
shoulders. For a single moment she threw
it off and showed herself in a silken gown
heavily embroidered with flowers.

Then the music stopped, and a chosen
speaker uttered words of congratulation to
the young couple on the balcony.

The speaker of the evening ended with
these words: "May our dear princely child
who is quitting the place where her infancy

20 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

has been passed love her new country with
unbounded affection; but may she not for-
get the leaves of our forests, the verdure of
our mountains, our May days and the
fidelity of our hearts/3

On the day following this happy evening
the wedding was celebrated in grand style
at the Royal Palace. The guests entered
through long files of archers, each one of
whom was dressed in the charming costume
of long-ago. When the wedding mass had
been sung, and the last words of the cere-
mony had been spoken, the Archbishop,
looking very fine in his robes of state, spoke
with deep feeling. He said: ' To-day the
hearts of the Bavarian people beat in
unison with those of the Belgian people."

Three days afterwards - - it was the fifth
day of October - - Prince Albert reached
Brussels with his bride. How gay his
home city looked that day! The railroad
station when they arrived was surrounded
by countless flags waving from tall masts.
There were the flags of Belgium, of Bavaria,
of France, of Germany. In this way the

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 21

people were trying to show their good feeling
for their neighboring countries, as well as
their love for their own.

As Prince Albert and his bride rode
homeward from the station they were sur-
rounded by joyous crowds. From the bal-
conies along the way flowers were flung and
scattered beneath the feet of the horses.
Surely a young couple never had a more
royal welcome than this!

Not long afterwards the good prince and
his bride started out on what is often called
The Grand Tour." They went on a
journey around the world, visiting many
places, seeing new sights, meeting strange
people.

When they returned, they were both
greeted so gladly that it was plain the people
loved their new princess as they did her
husband. How could they help it? From
the moment she had come to them from her
Bavarian home she had shown herself the
friend of all.

She was particularly full of love and sym-
pathy for the poor and needy, and she was

22 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

ever ready to help them. How dear all
little children were to her! Not only did
she give her money gladly to the poor and
starving, but she was ever ready to share
herself with them.

One day - - it was soon after she had
entered Brussels - - she visited a poor woman
who was lying ill.

"Oh, that I might hear some music!'
the sick woman said to her royal guest.

What do you suppose the princess did
after hearing the wish? The very next
time she visited that sick woman she carried
her violin with her, and sitting beside her
bed, played many a soft and restful air.

In Munich, as you will remember, she
had taken a course of training in the hospital
and had studied under her father. She still
put her knowledge to good use. As she
went about among the sick, she was able
to cure many of their ills. She taught
many a mother how to take care of her
babies.

As time went by she set up hospitals in
Brussels and other places in Belgium where

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 23

sick, needy people could get care and medi-
cine without cost. When summer came
and the children of the poor were suffering
from the heat and bad air of the city, she
sent groups of them to the seashore for a
holiday.

She even spread feasts in the palace, to
which she invited these little folks with their
mothers. And when they went away she
placed gifts of good things in their hands to
carry home with them. Surely Prince
Albert, with his own love for the poor and
desire to help them, had chosen his wife
well.

The Princess Elizabeth won the friendship
not only of those who were in need, but of
the rich and learned. She was simple in
her manners. She loved music and good
books deeply. She could talk wisely. She
could add to others' pleasure by herself
playing exquisite music on her violin.
Wherever she went there were smiles and
joyous greetings for the wife of the future
King of Belgium.

On a beautiful Sunday in November,

24 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

1901, a great thing happened in Prince
Albert's happy palace-home. It was the
birth of his first child.

The roar of cannon could be heard
throughout Brussels. One, two, three!
sounded the big guns - - then on and on
they boomed, till the listening citizens
counted the number telling that a young
prince had been born to the future King.

There was great excitement in Brussels
that night. In every home, big and little,
families met together to give toasts and
feasts in honor of the little princeling. There
would be great doings now! Many gifts
would be given by the royal parents ; many
honors would be bestowed on worthy people ;
many pardons would be granted to wrong-
doers.

Outside the palace a bulletin was posted,
telling of the baby's birth, and a register
was set up in the big hall inside, where
all visitors might write their names.

Crowds of people, both rich and poor,
hurried to the palace to sign this register.
Thousands of letters were placed in the big

KING ALHKRT TI1K BRAVE 25

letter box, each one bringing Prince Albert
congratulations on his having a son.

You may be sure that any poor people
in Brussels who were fortunate enough to
have sons born on that day made haste to
call their babies Leopold, after the young
prince. Of course, they also wrote to the
royal child's father, telling what they had
done.

They quickly received answers of con-
gratulations. Not only these, but rich
gifts were sent them, and always, among
the gifts, were gold watches for the young
prince's namesakes.

When Prince Leopold was not quite two
years old, his brother Charles was born;
and after him, in 1906, came a little sister
with golden hair and laughing eyes, the
Princess Marie Jose.

Great was the care bestowed upon these
royal babies. The brightest and most sunny
rooms in the palace were given up to them;
the best possible nurses were chosen; but
always their dear mother and father watched
over them with tenderest care. It was told

26 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

that Princess Elizabeth even wore special
garments that would be sure to be free
from germs when she went into the nursery.
It was also said that when the beautiful
grandmother, the Duchess of Flanders,
visited the palace, she was cautioned to
remove her furs before taking the precious
children in her arms.

On pleasant days the babies went riding
in open carriages through the streets of
Brussels. As they grew older they went on
outings in the parks and woods about the
city to gather flowers and frolic among
other children. Sometimes they could be
seen standing before shop windows filled
with beautiful toys. Then their eyes shone
with as much wonder and delight as those of
little folk of poor families.

These royal children not only studied and
played and went on long pleasure rides, but
they did many other things also.

"They must see what the people are
doing/3 their parents had decided. So
they visited the hospitals where the sick
were cared for; they were taken into the

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 27

homes of the poor as well as the mansions
of the rich; they watched the workers in
mills and factories; they went into ship-
yards to see the big ships about to sail for
other lands.

Ah! but when the glorious holiday time
came, how happy were the prince and
princess in taking their children to the
mountains and the seashore!

Ostend, the largest of the Belgian water-
ing places, was the favorite one of all. It
seemed beautiful to Prince Albert in winter
storms, as well as in summer sunshine.
Here he spent much time with his family,
living in a pretty, quiet villa in the simplest
way. He loved his fisher folk and their
children; and often in the early morning
he walked alone to the big sandy mounds
along the shore where they lived in tiny
cottages.

Sometimes the prince went with the
rough, tanned men on their fishing trips.
Away they would sail through the waves
in the early morning wind. Then, on the
turn of the tide, they would come back to

28 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

shore with nets heavy with fish. No time
must be lost now. The nets must be
emptied, and panniers must be filled with
the fresh fish and loaded on the backs of
donkeys to be carried to town and sold.

Prince Albert was fond of climbing among
the mountains; consequently many a holi-
day trip was taken among their picturesque
slopes. He also enjoyed riding in his auto-
mobile and often drove it himself. He
practiced shooting with rifle and shotgun.
He took long walks in the country and by
the seashore. He spent many hours in
study. And always he rose early in the
morning - - usually before seven o'clock be-
cause there were so many things he wished
to do before the day should end.

After he returned from his voyage around
the world with the Princess Elizabeth he
made many other journeys. He traveled
from one part of Great Britain to another
to learn how ships were built there, and
how the ship-builders and the fishermen
lived.

At such times he was so sensible that he

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 29

thought: 'If I go about with the pomp or
a king I cannot learn as much as if I appear
like any ordinary man.''

So, it is said, he sometimes pretended he
was merely a reporter trying to find out
things to print in the newspapers.

Indeed, as the years passed by, and
and even after the prince became Bel-
gium's king, he and his dear wife often
made pleasure trips over to London without
any outward show of royalty. They would
spend a day or two, perhaps, at some small
hotel, where the people might not guess
who they were. In the evening they would
attend the theater or opera in the same
quiet way. Indeed, so little did they let
themselves be known, that an automobile
dealer sold King Albert two automobiles and
went to lunch with him several times without
guessing he was the ruler of Belgium!

Once the king had a good deal of fun at
one of London's principal stores. After he
had made a purchase the dealer asked his
name so that he might send the goods to
him.

30 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

"Albert," was the answer.

"Albert what?" asked the salesman.

"King," was the ready reply.

And so, when the bundle went on its way,
it was addressed to "Albert King, Esquire."
How the good ruler and his wife must have
laughed over the little joke when the pack-
age was delivered !

While Albert was still a prince he traveled
all over Europe, visiting the most important
kings and queens and having many honors
paid him.

There was one place far from Europe
which he was anxious to explore. This was
the large Belgian colony in Africa. Its
people were negroes, and they were gov-
erned by white men sent from Belgium.
The natives of this Congo colony were wild
for the most part, so they knew little of the
ways of white people.

Now there was much talk in the outside
world about the manner in which these
negroes were ruled. It was said that they
were treated unfairly and often with great
cruelty.

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 31

'If I am some day to be King of Bel-
gium," Albert decided, 'I should know
everything possible about the Congo coun-
try. But I cannot know all unless I go
there and see things for myself/3

King Leopold was not willing at first that
his nephew should make this long journey.
However, after a while, he gave his consent,
and the prince set sail for Africa. The
people of Belgium were delighted. They
said to each other: 'If there is wrongdoing
in the Congo, such a good, wise prince as
Albert will find it out and make everything
right when he becomes King."

They were not to be disappointed. Albert
started out on his trip in company with a
few friends to give him help and advice in
case of need.

No sooner had he reached the Congo
State than he began to explore the country.
He traveled north and south, east and west
for eighty-two days. Sometimes he went
on his bicycle, sometimes in boats, some-
times on foot.

There were often wide stretches of tangled

32 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

forests through which he had to fight his
way. He walked at least fifteen hundred
miles through country too rough for riding
of any kind and where the air was stifling
from dampness and great heat. Mosquitoes
and other pests must have annoyed him
constantly. Yet he pressed on, always
gay, always brave and smiling. He was
never too tired or busy to give cheering
words to the few white women who lived
in the settlements. Even the savage na-
tives admired him.

"He is a great man/3 they said to each
other, and they gave him the name, 'He,
the Tall Man, Breaker of Stones/3

The news spread through the wildest
places that a great white prince with a
beautiful smile had come to visit the
country; and from all directions black men
and women and children came flocking to
see him.

During those days many a negro chief
came to Prince Albert to tell his wrongs and
ask for help. Kind and wise words were
sure to be the answer. Many a gift was

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 33

left behind the royal visitor when he went
back to Belgium. The black people never
forgot him, and to this day they tell their
children about the visit of the greatest and
kindest chief in the world.

The Princess Elizabeth did not wait in
Belgium for her husband's return but
started out to meet him on his way home.

When she reached the island of Teneriffe
the big ship which was bringing Prince
Albert from Africa was not far distant from
the island. Entering a steam launch, she
sailed out to her husband's steamer as it
neared port; and as the launch came along-
side, she ran up the ladder which had been
flung down its side and was speedily held
fast in the tall prince's arms. Always these
two have been lovers since they first met
on that happy day in Munich.

The sixteenth of August, 1909, was a
great day for the city of Antwerp, the
principal port of Belgium. Elags were
waving on the public buildings and houses,
and on the ships in the harbor. Crowds of
people in holiday dress filled the streets, all

34 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

on their way to the wharf where a big
steamer was expected to arrive every min-
ute. Why were the people so excited, so
gay ?

Why, indeed, except that the beloved
Prince Albert would be on this steamer,
coming home from his visit to the Congo?
Every one felt sure that from now on the
colony in Africa would bring more honor
and greater riches to Belgium.

A canopy had been set up on the wharf,
and here dukes and duchesses, and princes
and princesses watched for the coming of the
ship. Of course Prince Albert's little sons
and daughter were there, and his dear
mother too. His father could not bear her
company, however, because he had died a
few years before.

After the prince landed, the burgomaster,
who corresponds to the mayor of an Ameri-
can city, made a speech in which he told
him of his people's love and trust. The
young man thanked him and all Antwerp.
He spoke of what he had s.een in the vast
country of the Congo, and of his hopes of

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 35

what it would become under wise govern-
ment.

For a few months after the glad home-
coming everything went quietly in Belgium.
Then, in December, King Leopold died,
after being ill only a short time.

Six days afterwards Prince Albert rode
forth from his Chateau in the suburbs of
Brussels to be crowned in the Capital. As
the royal procession made its way out
through the gates of the Chateau, bands
played the 'Brabanconne," the national
anthem of Belgium, and the blare of many
trumpets could be heard. But hark! better
and more beautiful than all the music to the
ears of the new ruler were the shouts of de-
voted people.

" Long live the King ! Long live Albert ! '
they cried again and again with deep love
in their voices.

First came a gala carriage drawn by six
horses, containing the Queen and her two
sons. But little Marie Jose was not with
them.

"Such a lively three-year-old tot is too

36 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

active and would get tired too quickly to go
in the procession with us," thought her wise
mother. 'She had better be with her
grandmother in the city. From there she
can watch for us when we enter Brussels."

After the carriage of the Queen came
several others, in which rode the King's
mother and sisters and other royal people.

Then the King himself came in sight,
riding on horseback with the officers of his
staff about him, and dressed in the uniform
of a general. Behind him rode other royal
persons, one of them being the man who
would afterwards prove a black traitor to
friendship, and the enemy of truth and
justice. It was William Hohenzollern of
Germany.

On moved the procession to the blare of
trumpets, while the cheers of welcoming
people, gathered on either side, filled the
air. It entered the city, and passed through
the gaily decorated streets. It reached the
mansion where little Marie Jose was watch-
ing with her grandmother and friends.

"Long live the King!' the people were

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 37

shouting, as a little girl with shining eyes
and curly yellow hair joined in the cheers.
She waved her hands, first one, then the
other, then both, holding up as she did
so a big slice of bread she had just begun
to eat!

Later on that day, in the Palace of Parlia-
ment, King Albert made a solemn vow to
uphold the Belgian Constitution and to
defend the territory of his country. Little
did he dream as he spoke those words how
he must work and suffer by and by in a
fearful struggle to carry on that defense.

Before the ceremonies of the coronation
were over King Albert made a speech to his
people. He told them what he hoped to do
for their good. Many of his listeners' eyes
grew dim when he said with deep feeling,
'May God help me to fulfil this mission.'1

There was much work ahead for the new
ruler. There were many troublesome ques-
tions about the government of the Congo
colony, as well as of Belgium itself, which
he had to settle. He began at once to
devote money that was rightfully his to

38 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

making the natives of the Congo healthier
and wiser. He saw, for one thing, that
good physicians were sent there to treat the
diseases of the people.

Then, too, King Albert set to work to see
that his country was better defended.
His thoughtful eyes had been looking out
over Europe. They saw faint clouds of
war floating where most people thought
was a clear sky.

"My country must have a stronger
army," he said to himself, and he did much
to better it.

He was also interested in the mines of
Belgium. He studied machinery; he wanted
to understand everything that was being
made in the factories. He showed himself
the friend and helper of artists and writers
and musicians. In every way possible he
wished his kingdom to be not only rich and
prosperous, but wise and happy.

While he worked hard, he played hard,
too, so as to keep well and strong. He
practiced boxing and fencing. He played
golf. He sailed his yacht and drove his

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 30

motor car. He climbed some of the highest
mountains of the Alps.

Do you wonder that his people loved
this wise king who held the poor as well as
the rich in his big, kind heart? Wherever
he went they watched him with pride and
delight. Such a straight, tall figure! Such
a young-looking, handsome face! As his
subjects looked at him, ever the words rose
to their lips, "Long live our noble ruler!'

The Queen was not less idle than her
husband. While the King was busy with
his own duties, she gave thoughtful care to
the little sons and daughter. But this was
not all. She spent much time among the
poor and the sick. She carried food and
clothing to the needy. In winter she set
up stands where those who had little or no
money could get coal and blankets and hot
soup.

' Our good little Queen ! ' her people called
her. They almost worshiped her.

'Suppose she dies," thought many a
sufferer. 'How sad I should be then!'

Indeed, Queen Elizabeth looked so deli-

40 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

cate that her subjects were afraid they
would lose her. They did not understand
what a strong will guided her slight girlish
body, nor could they dream how much
that will would some day carry her
through.

Busy, happy months went by till the
year 1914 came round. It began very
merrily for Belgium, and many were the
grand doings for her people. The Lord
Mayor of London came to visit Brussels.
As he rode to the palace, great crowds
turned out to see him. Dressed in rich
robes and with golden chains hanging about
him, he sat back in his magnificent coach,
with his attendants on either hand. The
citizens of Brussels felt as if they were
looking upon the pomp of "London town'
of centuries ago.

Many dinner parties were given that
winter and spring in the finest mansions of
the city. Flowers were plentiful at the
feasts, and delicate china and silver, and
rich viands. All the guests talked gaily,
with smiling faces. What could there be

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 41

to fear, they thought, when Belgium was
prospering under her good king?

Then there was the ball at the Royal
Palace. Many officers were there in cherry-
red trousers and coats trimmed with gold
lace. The dresses of the ladies were won-
drous in their beauty. No fairer sight was
there, however, than that of the dainty
Queen, with the tall King beside her in a
black evening suit, and with his arm in a
sling from a fall he had just had from a
horse.

Many were the theater parties and operas
given in Brussels in that winter of 1914.
Afterwards, in the beautiful month of May,
when flowers were blooming everywhere,
the Queen had a garden party in the con-
servatories of the summer palace at Laeken.
Never would those who were present forget
the beauty around them- -the tall palms,
the fragrant blossoms; and best of all, the
sweet face of Queen Elizabeth smiling among
them.

Soon afterwards came another great
rvent: the Danish King and Queen came

42 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

on a visit to Albert and Elizabeth of Bel-
gium. Of course there was a grand recep-
tion at the palace, but afterwards there
was a sight which the poorest people in
the kingdom could enjoy. It was the pro-
cession of six royal coaches moving around
the big square on which the palace faced.
In these coaches rode kings and queens,
princes and princesses, lords and ladies, all
richly dressed.

Even when hot July arrived there was
another festival for the country. This took
place on the twenty-first of the month, the
Belgian national holiday. Brussels was gay
with flags and crowds of happy people filled
the streets. A special service was held in
the old church of St. Gudule in honor of
the founding of the kingdom. The greatest
people of the land were present - - judges
in scarlet robes; solemn-looking priests and
bishops; officers in grand uniforms. A
crimson carpet stretched to the altar. On
either side of this carpet stood rows of tall
soldiers dressed in bear skins.

All at once the drums began to roll; the

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 43

trumpets sounded; the organ pealed forth
and the priests chanted. And down be-
tween the rows of soldiers towards the altar
came the King and Queen and their three
children, with their attendants. The King
wore his general's uniform; the Queen
was richly clad and looked wondrously fair.
The two young princes, Leopold and Charles,
both with serious faces, were dressed in
gray satin suits with broad white collars.
Little Marie Jose, with bright, mischievous
eyes, was sweet and lovely as always. The
sight of the happy royal family in the softly
lighted church was often to be remembered
afterwards by those who looked upon them
that morning.

In the afternoon thousands of people went

out into the country to watch a contest

between French and Belgian airplanes.

Loud cheers rang forth as the planes soared

high overhead, then dipped and dived and

flew in spiral courses. Many were the

'stunts' performed by the daring aviators.

The happy day came to an end. King

Albert went away with his family to con-

44 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

tinue a vacation on which he had lately
started. The city of Brussels settled down
to its summer's sleep in the heat of the July
sun.

Then, suddenly, on the quiet peaceful
land, burst the most terrible storm men
have ever known. King Albert had seen
rightly during the last years when he
thought he discerned faint clouds of war in
the sky of Europe. Something had now
happened to mass those clouds into a mighty
curtain of blackness. And out from it
flames of fire were leaping that were to lay
waste beautiful lands and destroy the lives
of millions of innocent men, women and
children. Poor little Belgium, so happy
and contented! She must be the first to
suffer and oh, so terribly!

One morning in late July her boys and
girls were playing merrily in their gardens.
But the next day how different all seemed!
The same children were listening to a story
the older folks were telling: the Crown
Prince of Austria had been killed by a down-
trodden subject. It looked as if war were

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 45

to follow - - a war that the people did not
yet see was to draw many countries into its
whirlpool.

Germany had determined that this war
must be. She had long been getting ready
for it and was glad to have an excuse for
fighting. With her strong armies could she
not easily gain great riches and new posses-
sions from other nations who were not pre-
pared to fight? First of all, she must enter
France and gain Paris. From there she
would move on to England and bring that
mighty empire to her feet.

What would be the easiest way for the
German armies to enter France? Through
Belgium, of course. Then no mountains
or fortresses would block her path.

But Germany had long since signed a
paper, together with France and England
and the other great powers, stating that
Belgium should be held as a neutral country
by these larger and more powerful ones.
Their soldiers should not be free to enter
Belgium without her permission. In case
of trouble between them, she should not be

46 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

disturbed. Was Germany to keep her
promise? We all know the answer.

King Albert, away from the capital on
his vacation, watched the storm clouds
gather with a sad heart.

"I must hurry back to Brussels," he de-
cided. "This is no time to rest and play.
There is much for me to do at once/3

Shortly afterwards the capital of Belgium
was alive with excited people. Flags waved
everywhere - - those of England and France
and the United States and of other friendly
countries, as well as the red, yellow and
black flag of Belgium. Automobiles went
flying through the streets. Boy Scouts
hurried about, doing important errands.
Crowds gathered on the sidewalks to cheer
the royal family as it rode past. Before
now there had been citizens who believed
that kings and queens should no longer be
permitted in the world. But that time
had gone by. There was only one feeling —
love for King Albert and his family, and
the wish to stand by this wise ruler, what-
ever the danger might be. However,

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 47

every one still hoped that all would yet go
well.

The second day of August came - - Sun-
day. At five o'clock word was brought to
the King that Germany would not harm the
people of Belgium if her soldiers were al-
lowed to pass through unchecked on their
way to invade France.

"But if you refuse them free passage,"
she declared, "we will treat you as an
enemy.'3

What of the solemn promise Germany
had made? "A scrap of paper," her Kaiser
called it scornfully.

And what of King Albert? Could he
break his own vow that his country should
remain neutral by giving free passage
through Belgium to the German army on
its way to attack France? Impossible.

There were some of his subjects - - not
many however - - who would have stood
back and let the German hordes pass on.
But the King could not dream of so doing.

The next evening - - it was that of Mon-
day, the fourth of August - King Albert's

48 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

answer for his country was delivered to
Germany: Belgium would not break her
agreement; she would resist German in-
vaders. That same evening the King sent
a telegram to King George of England,
asking for help.

A reply came promptly that the aid
should be sent. Word also came from
France, on whom Germany had already
declared war, that she too would do all she
could for Belgium in this time of terrible
need.

On Tuesday morning the sun shone
brightly over Brussels. The city was dressed
as for a gala day. Flags hung from the
windows and balconies of every house.
The streets and doorways were packed with
excited people, watching eagerly for a sight
of their loved ruler aad his family when they
should ride past on their way to the House
of Parliament.

These people were not gay-spirited,
however, as on holidays. A heavy load
was on every heart because war, black cruel
war, threatened this prosperous land.

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 1<)

Wildly the crowds cheered, and loudly
the bands played as the procession made
its way onward to the Parliament House
where the leading people of the country were
gathered, awaiting the coming of the King
and the words that he would speak there.

"Long live the Queen! Long live the
Queen!" shouted thousands of devoted sub-
jects as she passed into the Parliament
House and seated herself, with her children
around her, on a golden chair near the
tribune.

And now the cry rang out, The King!
The King! Long live the King! Long live
the King!' as he followed the Queen into
the building. Firmly, quickly he advanced,
his sword clattering as he walked. He
took his stand before the people and pre-
pared to speak. A hush fell upon the great
gathering as he told of his faith in the
Fatherland where he felt that all hearts
were beating as one. Then, turning to the
deputies, he asked, 'Are you determined
steadfastly to hold intact the sacred patri-
mony of our ancestors?'

50 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

'Yes, yes!' they cried heartily.
'God will be with us! Long live Bel-
gium!" he replied solemnly.

At these words the people burst into wild
shouts. Tears filled the eyes of many.
Handkerchiefs were waved violently. But
no one at that moment seemed more earnest
than the boy Prince Leopold, whose eyes,
full of love and faith, were bent upon his
father.

Two days afterwards the German troops
were crossing the fields of Belgium like a
mighty machine of destruction, and King
Albert was on the way to take command
of his army. He would do all he could to
stop the course of the invaders. But his
army was small indeed beside theirs. And
they had been long preparing!

Cheering and giving courage to his sol-
diers, the King took his stand at Liege, with
his headquarters near-by.

On came the Huns, grim and hard of face,
cruel in heart. They looked like moving
masses of steel. Endless seemed the long
lines of their carefully trained troops. They

KING ALBERT THE BRAYK 51

bore with them mighty engines of war.
Could the small army of Belgians hold out
long against them? It would be impossible
unless help from the Allies arrived very
soon.

Nobly fought the Belgians. Never did
men show themselves greater heroes.
But inch by inch they were forced to
give way, while the needed help did not
arrive.

Again the brave little army took its stand
at Namur.

With their loved King to give them
courage, the men fought as valiantly as
before. They could not stem the mighty
onrush of the enemy, but they checked it,
while troops from all over England and
France were gathering for the mighty con-
flict ahead. Yes, they checked the ad-
vance for a few short hours, and that check
saved France from the destruction that
surely would have fallen upon her. King
Albert could not understand at the time
what a tremendous thing he was doing for
the wrhole world in those days at Liege and

52 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

Namur, when it seemed to him that he
failed.

He saw only that his army must again
withdraw - - this time towards Antwerp.
Still gloriously fighting, his troops made
their way over lands that had lately been
rich and beautiful, but were now a barren
waste.

Pretty villages lay in ruins. Churches
had been burned. The wrecks of cosy
homes covered the ground. Worse still!
Stories were brought to King Albert's ears
of terrible deeds done to men and women
and helpless children living in the villages
swept over by the enemy. Were these Ger-
man invaders worse than wild animals ? It
seemed so. The King's heart burned with
horror. There was now stronger reason
than ever to resist the foe as mightily as
possible.

His next stand was at Louvain. A few
French troops had now arrived, but their
help was not enough to stem the tide. In
a short time the King decided to withdraw
again.

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 53

'If we stay here," he thought, 'this
beautiful city will be stormed, and its
churches and university will be destroyed.53

For the same reason he did not try to
defend Brussels, but led his army to Ant-
werp, where he intended to wait till the
Allies should come in strong force to his
aid.

He was very sad because he had lost
great numbers of men, but he was not dis-
couraged. It seemed hard, however, very
hard, that the needed help from France and
England was so long in coming.

During the King's stay in Antwerp he had
one comfort, because his dear wife and chil-
dren had been able to join him there.

He did not spend many days idly waiting
for French and British troops to arrive.
He was soon leading his own small army
into the country round about and retaking
towns that had been seized by the enemy.

But now the Germans came massing in
great numbers upon Antwerp itself. The
city was besieged on all sides. The air was
filled with the booming of the big guns of

54 IEADERS TO LIBERTY

the invaders. They seized one fort after
another.

What was the King doing now? Was he
remaining safe with his family inside the
palace walls? Indeed, no! While Queen
Elizabeth was busy from morning till night
caring for the wounded, he stood ever at the
front of battle in the midst of danger.
Wherever his men needed him to give them
courage, there he went.

'More than once/3 his soldiers proudly
say of him, 'he took the place of a man
shot down and went on with the fighting/3

How they loved their devoted King, those
men of Belgium. Whenever their hope
nearly died out, they would cry out to each
other, "We must do something for our
King!' The words always gave new
strength, and the fight would go on with
fresh spirit. But at last King Albert saw
it was useless to try to hold Antwerp longer.
If his army were to be saved, it must flee.

There was still one way of escape, towards
Ostend by the sea. When once there,
Albert's ministers begged him to sail for

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE 55

England. "Here in Belgium your life is
in danger," they told him. 'In England
you will be safe/3

But the King would not think of going.
"My place is with my soldiers/5 he said
simply.

So, with thousands of hungry, ragged
troops, he fled over the borders into France,
and his family followed. He reached it at
last, on foot, worn out and dirty and hungry
as his men, and limping from having been
knocked down by a horse as he left Antwerp.

There, in friendly France, for the next
four years, King Albert had to have his
seat of government. Belgium, beautiful,
brave Belgium, had been swept over by the
cruel invaders. Only a small sandy strip
of land was left untouched for her rightful
ruler to call his own.

Ah! but the fire of hope still burned in
Albert's heart. Belgium must be freed.
If not, he would perish with her.

Side by side with the armies of the Allies,
he fought on at the head of his troops.
He shared their rations. He carried to

56 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

them the letters and gifts sent them by their

'home folks." He stood beside them in

the mud of the trenches. He treated them

as brothers. He called them, " My friends."

After a battle was over he would go
among his soldiers to shake them by the
hand. You cannot wonder they were will-
ing to die for him.

Many a story those now living tell of
what he did for them during the fearful
years of the war. 'Once/3 said a soldier,
'the King came and placed himself at my
side in the trench. He took the rifle of a
soldier so exhausted he could not stand, and
fired - - just as one of his own soldiers — for
an hour and a half."

The man went on to tell that the King
did not want his men to give him honors.
He cared only to be thought of as a true
soldier.

One night, so the soldiers say, he was
seen sleeping on the side of the road, too
tired to go farther.

He never showed fear. When an officer
fell he would take his place, and he would

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE f>7

call to his men like a loving comrade, "Now,
my children, all together! fire!' Never
were the wounded soldiers in the hospitals
weary of praising their King.

While King Albert was fighting with his
troops, Queen Elizabeth was busily working
among the poor and in the hospitals. The
tears were ever near the surface of her tender
blue eyes for those about her who were
suffering.

Stories, so dreadful that they could scarce
be believed, kept coming both to the King
and to herself. In their loved Belgium,
once so gay and happy, little children were
starving, having their eyes put out, and
their hands cut off by the Hun invaders
who had taken possession of the land.
Mothers were torn from their little ones.
Old men and women were tortured. Fathers
were dragged from their families by cruel
slave drivers and sent to Germany to work
in the mines and quarries, and even forced
to dig trenches from which their brute
masters would fire upon their fellowr Bel-
gians and their Allies.

58 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

Fear settled down over the once beauti-
ful fields and towns. Screams of unhappy
women often rang out through the streets
as their husbands were torn from them.
Boys and girls huddled together in cellars,
hoping the enemy would not discover them.

Yet still the sun shone, and the songs of
the skylark and nightingale could be heard.
And still King Albert the Brave smiled at
danger and gave courage to his troops to
fight on. He believed, as on that day which
now seemed so long ago, 'God is with us,'3
though his heart was heavy with the sor-
rows of his people.

Nearly three years went by in which King
Albert struggled on with the Allies against
the common enemy. Black indeed was
Belgium's sky when at last a ray of light
shone through - - the United States was to
give her strength in the cause of world-
freedom. The clouds parted still more
when American troops poured into France.

"Victory is coming, coming,'3 sang the
King's heart, which had so long been aching
for the sufferings of his people.

KING ALBERT THE BRAVE f><)

And victory did come in the glorious
month of November, 1918!

Back into Germany moved the army of
the Huns, leaving the wreck of Belgium
behind them. Beautiful cathedrals had
been destroyed. Cities had been laid waste.
Villages had been wiped out. Tens of
thousands of brave men had been killed.
Women and little children had been tor-
tured. Yet those who still lived could
again smile because their country was free.
Those who had sought refuge in France
came hurrying back to build new homes
and plant fresh gardens. Little children
who had been hiding in ruined buildings and
cellars came out into the sunshine to laugh
and play once more.

Oh, it was a glad time for Belgium and
her noble King and Queen now!

Gladdest day of all was that which saw
King Albert back in Brussels, with the city
gone almost mad with joy. It was half-past
ten on the morning of November nineteen
that he entered it with Queen Elizabeth,
the princes Leopold and Charles, and the

60 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

little Princess Marie Jose. The air rang
with the thunderous cheers of the Belgian
people, the pealing of bells, and the blare of
trumpets.

The city was decorated from end to end.
Flags of Belgium and of her Allies waved
everywhere. Among them were some of
the red, white, and blue which had been
made by Belgian women while hiding from
their enemy. They had made them out
of odd scraps of cloth when their hearts
were overflowing with joy over the good
news that America was sending her troops
to the aid of their unhappy country.

First, the King and his family rode to the
Parliament House, where the burgomaster
of the city made a noble speech of greeting.

Then came a review of Allied troops that
formed a line ten miles in length. Among
them marched two divisions of the Belgian
army, war-worn and weary, but oh, so
proud and happy!

As the procession moved on, flowers and
tiny flags came showering down in the
King's pathway from the balconies and

KING ALBERT THE BRAVK 61

house-tops on either side the street, and
from the eager watchers lining the side-
walks. Thousands upon thousands of de-
voted subjects, try as they would, were not
able to get near the line of parade, so dense
were the crowds. Glad cheers sounded
through the air like the steady roll of thunder.

The day was like midsummer. The sun
shone, and in its bright light airplanes
circled about over the heads of the joyous
people. At one place five hundred young
girls were singing the national song of
Belgium.

As the royal family came into sight in the
procession, the crowds pressed on excitedly
to catch a sight of Albert, their Soldier-
King, the devoted friend of his people.
Some of them stood on chairs or tables -
whatever they could get to lift them high
enough to make them surer of getting a
sight of their King's dear face.

He rode a magnificent horse, his young
sons, also on horseback, beside him. Calm
and noble he looked; but his face was worn
with the care and sorrow of t\ nn

62 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

He was happy, however, very happy, be-
cause the sufferings of his country were
over, and Belgium was once more free.
As his subjects looked upon him their
hearts swelled with pride. ' Before us/'
they thought, "is the greatest hero of the
greatest war in history.'3

MARSHAL JOFFRE

The 'Father1' of the French Soldiers

"LITTLE JOSEPH will never make a good
man of business like his father," the neigh-
bors would say. 'He dreams too much."

Then perhaps they would shake their
heads, thinking of the hard work Monsieur
Joffre must have to feed the hungry mouths
of his big family. The dear Lord had
blessed him and his good wife with eleven
children. Every boy among them ought
to learn a trade as early as possible, many
thought, so that he might do his part in
keeping the wolf from the Joffres' door.

There was no denying it; Joseph liked
books better than anything else, and when
once his head was bent in study he was
quite apt to forget what was going on
around him.

The boy's greatest delight was in solving
problems that made many of his classmates

63

64 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

scowl. He enjoyed the history lessons also;
they told of what had happened in France
through the years that had passed. He
pored over the maps of his geography,
picturing in his mind the places represented
there by dots and lines. Yes, his school-
room was a pleasant place to the gentle lad.

Yet Joseph loved Rivesalte. He had
been born there on a winter day — January
4, 1 852 --and there he had lived in an old
house near the borders of the village ever
since. On the mountain slopes near-by he
could watch the shepherds tending their
flocks of sheep and goats, while close at
hand were many vineyards where the
sweetest of grapes ripened in the glorious
summer sunshine, and the pickers were
busy from morn till night gathering the
juicy fruit for the makers of wine.

The summers were long and pleasant, and
the winters were not severe in Rivesalte
because it is in the far south of France,
and tucked away among the Pyrenees
Mountains, which divide it from Spain. It
was a delightful place for a boy to grow up

(iriu-ral I't-rshinjr and Marshal .Jotfre

MARSHAL JOFFRF Of>

in, especially as the people were shrewd and
kindly, and their ways were full of courtesy.

Blue-eyed, yellow-haired Joseph loved
his home and parents dearly. His father
was a cooper by trade. Many a stout oak
wine cask he had made to hold the juice of
the grapes ripened in the neighborhood.
But shaping barrels was not his only work
in life. He had received a fairly good edu-
cation; and in course of time he became
secretary to the mayor of the town.

The people of Rivesalte, living as they
did on the borderland, spoke the old Catalan
language, a mixture of French and Spanish.
It was the task of Monsieur Joffre to receive
the tax money brought to his office, and to
put down in the town records in good
French the statements the peasants had
made him in the Catalan tongue.

While he was tending to this business and
the like, his wife had many cares of her own.
Of course the children must be looked after.
But the home life was very simple, so there
was still time enough to tend the garden
and prune the grapes, in which Madame

66 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

Joffre took great pride. She was a charm-
ing woman, with bright, dark eyes, and
hair that was lustrous from careful brushing;
and quiet, gentle Joseph liked well to
please this capable, loving mother.

So the years passed till Joseph's twelfth
birthday was drawing near. Always his
reports from school had told the same story :
his place in the class was so high as to win
smiles and praise from his teacher.

Examination day was now at hand.
Hard problems in arithmetic would be given
to prove how good the year's work had
been. But the lad of Catalan was not
afraid; the harder the problem the more
he enjoyed working upon it.

The day after the examinations, which
had proved to be unusually hard, were over,
the teacher gave the pupils his report as to
how well they had done. Great was young
Joseph Joffre's delight to be told that he
had solved every problem correctly.

But the schoolmaster did not stop here.
He went on to say: "My lad, you have
done well in all your studies during the

MARSHAL JOFFRE 07

year. Moreover, you can gain nothing by
staying longer in our school here. You are
fitted to take up the studies of the Lycee at
Perpignan."

To do what the teacher advised was a big
step for any boy in Rivesalte to take. It
meant leaving home. It meant a different
life altogether, because Perpignan was a
large town as well as an old one with an
interesting history.

'What will my father and mother think
of the schoolmaster's proposal?' wondered
Joseph, as he went home to tell the good
news.

Would they shake their heads and declare
they could not afford such an expense?
Would they say that this twelve-year-old
son must give up further schooling, now that
he had learned all that he could in Rivesalte,
and begin to learn a trade? Not so! Both
parents were proud that Joseph showed
knowledge above his mates, and when they
learned what the schoolmaster proposed,
they quickly decided that the lad should go
to Perpignan.

68 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

When the next school year opened a very
happy boy took his place among the other
students at the Lycee. He was awkward,
to be sure, and younger than most of his
fellows, and he was shy in the midst of the
strange new surroundings. But his teachers
and schoolmates gave little heed to his ap-
pearance when they discovered what a keen
mind was his.

As it had been before, so now: the most
difficult problems gave Joseph pleasure
where they made other lads fearful. After
mastering arithmetic, he passed on to alge-
bra and geometry; his ready understanding
of all forms of mathematics was the wonder
of the school. He was excellent in many
other subjects too — history, and science,
and the writings of great authors. But there
was one study, strange as it may seem,
where he could make little headway. This
was the German language. No matter how
he might try, his marks in German were
almost certain to be low.

Happy days went by in Perpignan, and
all the time the youth won praise from his

MARSHAL JOFFRE 69

teachers here even as he had done in little
Rivesalte.

When lessons were over for the day
Joseph was free to wander about the old
town, where he made many friends among
the workmen. He was interested in all of
them - - the blacksmiths, the coopers and
the carpenters. He liked to watch them
plying their trades and talk to them of
what he was learning in the big school. In
this way they found out what study he
excelled in above all; and, so it is said, they
sometimes gave him problems to solve for
them. Thus, while their hands were busy,
his quick mind could be counting up the
cost of the lumber or nails they were using.
They were good natured and happy - - these
workmen of Perpignan - - and many a happy
hour Joseph passed among them.

'My son shows such readiness to learn
that he shall not end his schooling with
what he can obtain in Perpignan," Monsieur
Joffre decided after a while.

Because of this, the youth was sent from
Perpignan to the more difficult school of

70 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

Montpellier. There, before he was sixteen
years old, he finished the courses in mathe-
matics and the classics. This was most
unusual in one so young. Many people
now were ready to say that young Joseph
Joffre was more than a dreamer, and if he
kept on he would surely make a name for
himself and for his family.

And Joseph - - a wonderful dream had
already shaped itself in his mind. He
must - - he would - - go to the great Poly-
technic Institute at Paris.

Now it was not an easy matter to enter
this school. Every year eleven or twelve
hundred of the brightest young men of
France sought admission. But there were,
at the most, no more than two hundred and
fifty vacant places to be filled. One must
therefore have very high marks in the
entrance examinations to stand any chance
of becoming a student there.

Joseph Joffre was not fearful, however.
Had he not always done so well in mathe-
matics as to astonish his teachers? And
since this study was of most importance at

MARSHAL JOFFRE 71

the Polytechnic Institute, why should he
not have strong hope of success?

His parents and friends in quiet little
Rivesalte eagerly waited and watched till
the word was brought to them that Joseph
had passed in the examinations. His rank
was fourteen in a class of one hundred
and thirty-two. It would have been much
higher than that if he had not failed in the
study which had always troubled him -
the hated German language.

Great was the rejoicing in Rivesalte now.
The boy who had grown up among the
simple kindly peasant folk there, who had
helped in many an autumn grape-gathering,
who had laughed and joked with the shep-
herds on the mountain side, and listened with
delight to the tales they told him - - this
lad whom they had called a dreamer was
now to take his place in the famous Poly-
technic Institute. There he would study the
higher branches of a soldier's art alongside
the sons of the greatest men of the country,
men whose very names made the country
folk draw deep breaths of awe. Gentle,

72 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

quiet Joseph Joffre in the Polytechnic In-
stitute! It was wonderful indeed.

Moreover, another lad from Rivesalte bore
him company, a youth by the name of
Roque. He had been Joseph's playmate
from the time he was a baby and had the
name of being not so much of a dreamer.
By and by - - but the people could not
guess this then - - he was to become the
well-known General Roque, who did much
to make the airplane of great service in war-
fare. As for the honors Joseph himself was
to win, his friends were to be still more
proud and astonished.

In the autumn of 1869, when Joseph was
only seventeen years old, he began his new
life in Paris.

As the Polytechnic Institute was a mili-
tary school, the training was strict. Joseph's
class was formed into a battalion, with a
captain at the head, and two adjutants and
thirteen sergeants below him.

Joseph was chosen to be one of the
sergeants because he had stood high in his
entrance examinations. It was his duty,

MARSHAL JOFFRE 73

therefore, to keep his squad in order. Now,
because he was the youngest student in the
school, this was a hard task for him -
harder than anything he undertook except
to master his lessons in German. Alas!
he had not been able to leave this study
behind him, the only one in which he had
ever failed. It was the same bugbear as
ever.

In mathematics, however, he was still a
'shining light' and won praise from his
teachers. This was, of course, far more
important than learning another coun-
try's language. Later on, when school-days
should be over, a mind keen in solving
difficult problems would be able to under-
stand the building of forts and bridges, the
construction of engines, and other work
which belongs to the art of soldiers in high
positions.

The days were divided into regular
periods for \vork and play. When six
o'clock struck in the morning Joseph and
his mates had to get out of bed without a
moment's lingering for one more little nap.

74 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

At half-past six he stood at attention with
his comrades to answer the roll call. Break-
fast was served at half-past eight. Then
came one study after another till two in the
afternoon, when Joseph had dinner, which
we may be sure he ate with a hearty relish.

After dinner the hard problems in mathe-
matics and the experiments in chemistry
which he may have been working on in the
morning could be forgotten for several hours,
for now Joseph was free to ride horse-
back, practice in the gymnasium, fence, or
take part in other sports with his mates.

At nine o'clock he was ready for the good
supper that was served at that time. Then
came a study hour, after which the youth was
free to tumble into bed and forget every-
thing else till reveille should sound next
morning.

Every Wednesday afternoon and all day
Sunday Joseph was free to leave the big
school on the hillside of St. Genevieve and
wander about Paris for his own pleasure.

Interesting as Paris was, Joseph was glad
when vacations came, because then he

MARSHAL JOFFRE 7o

could go back to the little home under the
Pyrenees to spend happy days among the
vineyards of Rivesalte and to listen again
to the stories of the shepherds on the moun-
tain slopes.

When Joseph had been in the military
school eighteen months a storm broke over
France. Her neighbor, Prussia, the most
powerful kingdom in Germany, had shown
herself anxious for some time to 'pick a
quarrel.'3 Joseph had heard the low
rumbling of thunder which at first did not
seem worth heeding. Suddenly the storm
burst over the country. There was no es-
cape. Prussia, anxious for new possessions,
was determined on war with France.

There was but one thing for Joseph to do:
he must help his country in defending her-
self against her powerful enemy. With
one hundred and thirty classmates he left
the Polytechnic Institute to join the army,
with the rank of sub-lieutenant in a com-
pany of engineers. He was sent to the
battery of the Porte d'ltalie where he
was soon under fire. Faithfully he did his

76 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

part in the unjust war, but the French army
was not strong enough to overcome the
enemy. As one misfortune after another
befell Joffre's loved country his heart grew
bitter.

The French had been driven back, and
beautiful provinces, Alsace and a large part
of Lorraine, had been torn from France by
the merciless Prussians. The young man
was filled with added horror when he was
obliged to watch, powerless, while Paris,
his loved Paris, was besieged, and the
French were obliged to surrender.

'Some day/3 the young patriot said to
himself again and again, 'Prussia shall
pay for her cruelty to France. And I will
train myself so that when she is attacked
again I will know how to defend her/3

This was certainly a proud boast to enter
the mind of a simple country lad from
Rivesalte. We shall see later on if his
thought was a vain one.

When the War of 1870, which brought
such shame and sorrow to France, came to
an end, young Joff re went back to his studies

MARSHAL JOFKRE 77

at the Polytechnic Institute \\here he now
entered the Corps of Engineers.

\\ hen his courses there were finished he
went to the War College at Fontainebleau to
take still harder studies. There he finished
learning the trade of an engineer, and, as a
lieutenant he was sent out a few months
afterwards to take part in repairing the
forts of Paris. He was busy for a number
of years at this work, patient and faithful in
everything that was given him to do, but
unheard of in the big world outside.

One day- -it was in the springtime of
1876 - the President of the Republic came
to examine the defenses of Paris. He took
note of the work done by Lieutenant Joffre
because it showed such care. Moreover,
when he met the young engineer he was
impressed by his quiet strength. To the
young man's astonishment he stepped up to
him, so the story goes, and greeted him with
these words, ''My compliments, Captain."

Up to this moment Joffre had been only
a lieutenant; but now, by this kindly
speech, the President meant that he should

78 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

henceforth be a captain! His delight must
have been very great.

"Our Joffre/ as his friends now called
him when he went home, was the guest of
honor in every house. Dressed in his fine
uniform, with the stripes of a captain on his
arm, he was still as simple in his ways as in
the old days, and as ready as ever to ex-
change stories with the peasants and to
take part in a game of cards with his father
and the neighbors.

Then, fresh as a boy after the idle happy
days, he went back to the stern work of
building forts.

After several years in Paris, Captain
Joffre was sent to other places where his
skill could be used, - - up among the Jura
Mountains, and then to Montpellier on the
Mediterranean Sea where he went to take
command of a company of soldiers.

He married a beautiful young girl at this
time and was very happy with his loved
one. But a great sorrow soon fell upon
him, because the young wife became ill, and
death took her away from his sight.

MARSHAL JOFFRK 70

It seemed at first as though he could not
bear his loss. 'I cannot stay in France,"
he thought. ' Everything here reminds me
of my dear one."

News was brought to him that an expe-
dition was about to be sent out to Tonkin
in Indo-China. Admiral Courbet was to
command it.

"I will ask to join the expedition," the
restless, unhappy man decided. His request
was granted, and shortly afterwards the
young engineer was on his way to the other
side of the world.

He had not been long in Tonkin before he
attracted the Admiral's attention and won
his admiration.

"Captain Joffre would make a good
fighter," he said to himself. 'I will take
him with me to Formosa to attack the
pirates wrho are making so much trouble
along the near-by shores of the Pescadores
Islands."

Accordingly, Joffre was soon busy dealing
with the dangerous pirates and showed such
bravery that he was given a rich reward:

80 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

he received the Cross of the Legion of
Honor.

After the fighting with the pirates was
over Captain Joffre remained in the East for
some time longer. Defenses were needed
about North Tonkin, and as Chief of
Engineers he was given full charge of their
construction. He was kind to his men,
and they loved him deeply. They came to
speak of him as 'Father Joffre." But he
talked little. There were still two deep
sorrows in his heart. One of these was
because of the loss of his beautiful young
wife. The other came from the misfortune
which had befallen his loved country when
Germany won from her two of her richest
provinces. The memory of the War of 1870
never went to sleep, as he said afterwards.

During his life in Tonkin Joffre showed
himself devoted to his work of master-
engineer. Everything connected with it
was interesting. He enjoyed it. Yet he
was ever ready to help the people of Han-
hoi where he was stationed, in other ways.

After all, however, he could not have had

MARSHAL JOFFRK 81

a very pleasant life in Hanhoi. It was hot
and unhealthful there; oftentimes fever
raged and many died around him. More-
over, the strange, dark-skinned natives were
very different from the home folks of gay,
fun-loving France.

So the captain must have been glad when
General Mensier gave him the order to
return with him to his own country. The
General had watched Joffre in his work and
admired him. He had finally said to him-
self, That young man can be very helpful
to the Department of Engineering at Paris.
I will make him a member of my staff/1

General Mensier himself was at the head
of the War Ministry. So it came about
that Captain Joffre went back to the home-
land where he was kept busy for several
years, first in Paris, then as a professor in
the military college among the forests.

Ah, but there were vacations now and
then, when he could go back to the little
town under the Pyrenees and listen like a
care-free boy to the music of the river
rushing down the mountain near the old

82 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

«^^_«^— ^MM^^^HI^B^MW^^^^HIBIIM^^^^^MBMMHMMVW^^^^MIWMBHIIi^^^^^^H^^^^HHMHaM^BMMHH

house where he was born. Once more he
could spend merry evenings playing cards
with his father and his uncles, and wander
on sunny days among the beautiful vine-
yards.

One night, in the midst of a game with his
father, the old man began to talk of a certain
vineyard which he owned.

"You should cut oblique trenches through
it," advised his son. "Then the floods
which pour down the mountains can be
easily carried off and harm will be spared
the vines/3

"Eh, what the deuce!' continued the
young officer, "I know something about
trenches. That is my job/3

He said well. He did know something
about trenches. But little did he guess
how much more he was yet to know when
the Great War should sweep over the land.

Though free and merry with the home
folks, Joffre was shy as a schoolboy among
strangers. While he was on General Men-
sier's staff the Minister of War came one
day to call on the General at his office.

MARSHAL JOFFRK S3

As the visitor entered the outer room, he
met no usher there to announce his presence.
While he stood waiting for one to appear,
a young officer got up from behind a small
desk in the corner of the room and pro-
ceeded to take the place of the usher.

When he had left the office the visitor
said laughingly to the General, 'I see you
have a new usher."

'Oh, that's Joffre," was the answer.
'He's good at all jobs.'; He stopped for
a moment and then went on, 'He'll be
good for the big job some day."

It had become plain to the General away
back in Tonkin, and now in Paris, that the
young soldier who showed himself faithful
in everything given him to do, no matter
how small the duty might be, was the kind
of man to perform the most important
tasks well.

In 1892 Major Joffre --for such was his
title now - - was again sent away from
France. A railroad was needed in Africa,
through the wild country of western Sudan.

Lions roared at night through the forests

84 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

there. Hippopotami wallowed in the muddy
banks of the streams. Many of the natives
were fierce and ready to attack the white
men who ventured among them. Not only
great skill would be needed by the engineer
who should build the railway, but also
bravery and wisdom in meeting the tribes of
savages who dwelt along the intended route.

Major JofTre started out on his under-
taking earnestly, gladly. He was ready for
fresh adventure. He was also pleased to
have a chance to use his knowledge of
engineering.

When Major Joffre reached the Sudan he
started building the railroad through the
wilderness. It was only partly finished
when he was ordered to leave his work and
help Colonel Bonnier make an advance on
Timbuctu, the sacred city of the Tuareg
tribe. The black men had guarded it so
carefully that only four people from Europe
had managed to enter it during the past
hundred years. The city stood on the edge
of the Sahara, beside the banks of the Niger.

It was the place to which trains of camels

MARSHAL JOFFRE 85

and heavily laden canoes brought the
products of Africa from many miles around.
'If only Timbuctu could come into the
hands of the French!' Colonel Bonnier had
thought. Then the trade of Central Africa
would belong to my country!'

The two commanders started out on
different paths. Colonel Bonnier traveled
by boat along the Niger River. Major
Joffre led his troops by land. He had over
one thousand men under him, mostly
natives, with French officers commanding
them.

As Joffre advanced through the wilder-
ness he was ever on the lookout for danger
and watchful in discovering the ways in
which the savages were likely to attack him.

From time to time he had fights with
his black enemies, but always met with
success; and he was so wise in dealing
with the native chiefs that he won the friend-
ship of many of them.

After a difficult march of more than five
hundred miles, often over fever-laden marsh-
lands, he drew near the mysterious city of

86 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

Timbuctu. Sad news had already reached
him that Colonel Bonnier and his whole
force had been taken by surprise and killed
on the way.

Should he himself turn back ? The natives
had proved traitors to Colonel Bonnier
when he thought he had made friends with
them. Might not Joffre be treated in the
same way? Suppose he succeeded in reach-
ing Timbuctu ; was not still greater danger
waiting for him there ?

Questions like these entered the major's
mind, but he had no thought of giving up
what he had started out to do. Bravely he
pushed on till he reached the sacred city,
which he entered and succeeded in taking.

But this was not enough in Joffre's eyes.

"I must stay here till I have made Tim-
buctu a safe stronghold for France," he said
to himself.

Already, however, the order had come:
"Go back to your tracklaying in the wilder-
ness and finish the railroad you have begun.'3

He considered whether he should obey
the order. No, he quickly decided, because

MARSHAL JOFFRE S7

his superior officers who were far away did
not know what the condition of the country
was.

Consequently, his love for France said,
'Remain and fortify Timbuctu and make
amends as best you can for the loss of
Bonnier and his brave companions/'

He did remain and carried out his plan so
well that Timbuctu became a strong French
post, and French rule was set up in that
part of Africa. Then only did Major
JofTre return to his railroad which he was
able to complete without further interrup-
tion.

When the news reached France of Joffre's
brave march, and the conquest made by
him in the Sudan, his name was sounded
with praise through his native country. He
was awarded the title of colonel and another
degree in the Legion of Honor. Now at
last he had won fame.

His adventures had been so interesting
that he wrote a book about them. The
story was told simply and clearly and was
read with delight by his countrymen.

LEADERS TO LIBERTY

When his work in the Sudan was finished
Colonel Joffre went back to France, where
he was soon busy in a new way altogether, -
he helped the War Ministry in the making
of new inventions for war.

Then again he was sent away, this time
to the big island of Madagascar which was
owned by France. Strong fortifications
were needed for the principal harbor of the
island. Only a great engineer would be
equal to planning them and directing their
building. Colonel Joffre commanded a
corps of six thousand men in this work, and
he showed such skill that he won high honor.

"Why, he has accomplished a wonder in
engineering!' people said of him, and his
old friends in Rivesalte were prouder than
ever of "Our Joffre/' Yet the man himself
was as simple and kindly as ever, with no
thought of being conceited over the fame
that had come to him.

In the year 1900 he was once more back in
France where he soon had cause for new
happiness, because he had won the love of
a gentle and sweet-natured lady who was

MARSHAL JOFFRK 89

a widow with two little daughters. The
brave colonel and she were shortly wedded
and began housekeeping outside of Paris.

Now at last, after many lonely years and
long wanderings, Joffre had a home of his
own. He was tender and thoughtful of
his dear wife, and the kindest of fathers to
the two little girls. After a long, busy day
at the office he would go back to his family
with a light heart, because ahead of him was
an evening of pleasant chat and music. His
little daughters could talk to him about
their school and play, and he would never be
too tired to listen.

And now, when he went back to Ri-
vesalte for a vacation, he need not go
alone. His wife and children bore him
company and enjoyed with him the moun-
tains and the vineyards and the company
of the peasant folk whose love they were
quick to win.

Thus Rivesalte became their holiday
home, and Joffre bought a house there, —
not grand at all, but roomy and comfortable,
and with a garden containing beautiful

90 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

trees. It stood at the entrance of a boule-
vard to which the people had given the
name " Joffre ' in honor of the great man
who had been born among them.

To this day they like to tell the story of a
certain old neighbor who had known Joffre
from his childhood. When the General
had become famous, this man felt he must
not speak to him in a familiar way any
longer. He must say 'you' and not
'thou' as the people of Catalan did when
talking to relatives and close friends.

But Joffre laughed at such an idea. He
believed in "once a friend, always a friend."
On the other hand, however, he would
never give a good position to any one
simply because he was a friend.

'No one/' he thought, 'should advance
except by his own work and will/' He him-
self had earned by faithful effort what he
had gained. This, he believed, was as it
should be for every one.

Joffre had succeeded so remarkably in
Madagascar that on his return to France
he was given charge of the making of all

MARSHAL JOFFRE 91

defences against possible enemies. He built
four strong forts at this time, - Belfort,
Fpinal, Toul, and Verdun. Each one of
these forts was to be attacked before many
years by the German army, and each one
was to show itself difficult of conquest be-
cause of the excellent way in which it had
been built.

But Joffre, now a brigadier-general, was
not satisfied with his training. He said to
himself, "I am an incomplete man. I have
not had enough practice at handling troops
in the field."

Without doubt he was thinking of what
he had determined more than thirty years
ago when Germany had brought such shame
to France : be would prepare himself to defend
his country if she were ever attacked again.

So it came about that he took up the active
command of troops. First he had a brigade
under him, then a division, and finally a
whole corps.

When he was quite sure that he knew
everything about commanding large bodies
of men he was well content. By this time,

92 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

however, it was plain to every one that he
deserved one of the highest honors France
could give him: he was made a member of
the Superior War Council. The very next
year, 1911, he became commander-in-chief of
the French armies.

For nearly three years he was quietly,
happily busy at this most important post.
Each morning he would leave his lovely
home across the river from the Eiffel Tower
for an early ride on horseback. Then break-
fast followed, and a hard day's work at the
War Office. But when evening came Joffre's
charming wife and two young daughters
listened eagerly for his home-coming. Now
there would be music, and reading of favor-
ite books, and lively chats over what had
happened to each one during the day.

A gentle, kindly man was the great gen-
eral, and simple in all his ways! He ate
sparingly; he slept, by choice, on a hard
bed; he cleaned his sword and saddled his
horse himself. His voice, sweet as the
grapes of his native vineyards, was delight-
ful to listen to. And yet the strength of

MARSHAL JOFFRK '.):;

this man, so gentle and modest in manner,
was felt by every soldier in the French army.
They loved him; yet they felt that he must
be obeyed. One of the highest officers under
him said truly, 'He commands us as we
love to be commanded."

The year 1914 arrived, and with it the
oncoming rush of the mighty German army
which had been long preparing for its
attack on France. Was Joffre excited at
the tremendous duty that was now his, -
to defend France against the terrible enemy?
He did not seem so, at any rate. His
manner was as calm and gentle as ever.
Yet the fire of a strong purpose, which had
burned in his heart for forty-four years,
burned now \vith intensest force. He was
prepared. Every day since his youth he
had been preparing, not only in mind but
in body. That he might be strong and
keen of thought, he had eaten simply,
exercised regularly, slept long nights of
healthful sleep. Yes, he was prepared.
Long ago his plans had been laid for defense
when the foe should strike.

94 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

Down in little Rivesalte there was no fear
even when men, women and children in
other parts of France were trembling at the
news that war was upon them.

"Haven't we got our Joffre?' they said
to each other with simple trust. Surely,
they thought, France would be safe if he
was at the head of the army.

Ah! but there were fearful days ahead for
the country. They were days that would
make the wisest shake their heads and ask,
'Shall we be able to hold out against
Germany's long-planned, carefully-thought-
out attack?"

'We must stand guard on the east,"
Joffre quickly decided. There he would be
ready to meet the oncoming German hordes
as they advanced over the borderland.
There were strong French forts there, so he
would be able to make a good resistance.
Accordingly he poured forces into that part
of France.

Little did he dream that Germany did not
plan to take the course he expected because
it would make the hardest kind of fighting

MARSHAL JOFFRE 95

necessary. Indeed, no! How much easier
for her main army to march through Belgium
and enter France from a more northerly
direction. What was a mere scrap of paper,
forsooth, - - a paper containing the promise
that Belgium should remain independent,
no matter what troubles might arise between
her neighbors ?

"Why! it is a trifle not worth consider-
ing," the German Emperor and his advisers
evidently believed.

Quickly Joffre had to change his plans
as he heard that seventy-five divisions of
Prussians were sweeping over Belgium.
Perhaps - - perhaps - - their advance would
be checked before they reached the border
forts of Namur. So the French hoped.
But bravely as King Albert and his little
army fought, he was able to hold back the
Germans for a short time only. On they
came; the stronghold of Namur gave way;

the river Meuse was crossed; and the
cruel Huns entered the streets of French
towns, bringing sorrow and death and
destruction.

96 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

The women of the invaded districts no
longer sang gay songs at their work. Boys
and girls stopped their play in terror when
they heard the hated "Watch on the Rhine'
played by the advancing German bands.
There were terrible happenings in those
days. Innocent people were tortured and
put to death by the bayonets of their
enemies, perhaps for their own amusement.
Little children were maimed and starving.
Women were made insane by the horrors
they looked upon.

Weeping and wailing could now be heard
all over France as stories spread of what
cruel war was bringing in its train.

And Joffre? Day after day he gave the
same command- ' Retreat "— - as the in-
vaders came sweeping farther and farther
into the country he loved as his life. They
were headed for Paris. It looked as if they
would soon reach the Capital and take pos-
session of it. Then would not France be
lost? So tens of thousands of people were
saying to each other.

"Have we been mistaken in our com-

MARSHAL JOFFRK 97

mander-in-chief?' they asked. They were
losing faith.

But most of the officers under Joffre still
trusted in him. They said, "He has a plan
in his mind. We will still believe in him and
that he will lead our country to safety."

One day, however it was late in August,
1914- -a certain captain coming from the
war front met some other officers who had
not heard the latest report. The captain
looked very gloomy. He had a sad tale to
tell of the army in full retreat, of the great
need of heavy artillery and munitions, of the
rapid advance of the enemy towards Paris.

"What about the General Headquar-
ters?' asked one of the officers in a dis-
couraged tone.

"At the end of their rope/' was the
answer.

"And what does the boss say?' asked
another officer.

"Joffre?" the captain asked. Then, rais-
ing his arms towards the sky and opening
and shutting his eyes, he cried, 'Joffre?
That man still believes we'll win out!'

98 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

And JofTre did believe it. He never lost
hope. Moreover, he had a plan on which
he had spent long hours of thought. He
was like the sun that still shines behind the
clouds, be they ever so heavy and black,
and is sure to scatter those clouds some day.
Even now he could see victory ahead.

Day after day he led the retreat back,
still back, till he reached the river Marne.
Every foot of the ground here he knew from
practice with troops years ago. Now at
last he was prepared to turn like a wild
animal at bay.

It was the evening of September 4 when
his officers received from him an order to
be given to their men at once.

'' Advance/' so the order stated, 'and
when you can no longer advance, hold at
all costs what you have gained. When
you can no longer hold, die.'3

Next morning the will of Joseph Joffre
was the will of every man in his army, as it
turned not merely to defend itself as it had
been doing; but to attack.

For five terrible days the battle raged.

MARSHAL JOFFRE 99

The air resounded with the thunder of
artillery. The ground was strewn with
the bodies of the dead and dying. Many
were the deeds of heroism in that time, as
with Joffre's words ringing in their ears,
the French soldiers forgot all else in their
struggle to save the fatherland.

'Hold at all costs what you have gained,"
he had commanded. And further, "When
you can no longer hold, die." Yes, they
would die and die gladly, if only France
might be spared the yoke of German slavery.
The courage of their commander had passed
on to his troops.

Slowly but surely the enemy weakened,
and at last with the daylight of September
10, the German army was in retreat. The
sunshine of strong will and steady purpose
had broken through the clouds. Joseph
Joffre had fulfilled the desire of his life, -
he had saved France.

When the good news spread through the
country, there was rejoicing in every home.
And in Paris, just delivered from the ap-
proach of the enemy, a day was given up

100 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

to celebrate the wondrous victory of the
Marne. There were prayers of thanks-
giving in the churches, and songs of victory
were sung. But most precious of all trib-
utes to the General whose fame was now
shouted over all the world was that offered
to him in the quiet little home town far
from the noisy outside world. There in
dear little Rivesalte, the friends of Joffre's
childhood gathered flowers with which they
covered the steps of the old house where
he was born. Great was the pride of those
peasant folks that day.

:'Our Joffre," old men and women, boys
and girls said to each other, 'is the savior
of France."

How was it in these days with the soldiers
of France, the men whose glorious courage
had so nobly carried out the will of their
commander? They had gladly offered their
lives in the terrible conflict because they
loved their chief and they knew that he
loved them. "Father Joffre' they came to
call him. He was their friend. Not one
of them would he carelessly sacrifice.

MARSHAL JOFKRK 101

Furthermore, he would take no more
credit for what he had done than should be
given to the poorest and humblest of his
soldiers. When the battle of the Marne
had ended, he wrote a letter to those brave
faithful troops, in which he said:

"As for me, if I have done any good, I
am rewarded by the greatest honor that
ever came to me in my whole career, the
honor of commanding men like you. It is
with deep emotion that I tender you my
thanks for what you have done. I owe
to you the realization of that towards which
all my energies have continuously strained
for four and forty years; I mean the
revanche l of 1870."

In another part of the letter he said, 'I
do not want people to talk about me any
more than the others. I am a citizen of
the Republic, nothing more."

As we all know now, the Great War con-
tinued to rage long after the battle of the

1 Revanche is the French word for revenge. Hence, by the
" revanche of 1870," Joffre referred to the revenge of his people
which the Germans deserved for their unjust war upon the French
in 1870.

102 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

Marne. Bitter fighting was ahead for many
months, — for years in fact. But Joffre
had stemmed the tide of the German ad-
vance into his country. He continued to
keep up a noble defense against an enemy
that was far greater in number and vastly
better trained than his own army.

During those years while Joffre was
standing out against the invaders, the
Allies were preparing for the time when
they could not only defend themselves, but
make strong attacks. At the beginning
they had been taken by surprise. As soon
as possible they must follow a more active
course.

When that time came, Joffre, who had

'borne the brunt of the burden" so long and

was growing old, agreed in his usual noble,

big-hearted way that another commander-

in-chief should be chosen in his place.

But the man of iron will and loving heart
was not to be forgotten by his people.

"All honor to our noble Joffre," they said
heartily.

In the homes of the great and the lowly

MARSHAL JOFFRE 103

everywhere in France his picture, had its
chosen place, and little children were told
by their parents: That is the hero who
saved our country in its greatest need. All
along he has believed in our final victory.
He believes in it still. And it was he who
took the first great steps towards making
victory possible. Never forget Father
Joffre."

As the war raged on, and deeds were done
by the Germans, that were too horrible to
tell, the United States could bear to look
on no longer. She joined at last in the
War upon War. The good news of her
coming gave fresh courage to France, now
weary and almost hopeless.

Shortly afterwards - - it was in the spring
of 1917- -a war mission made a journey
across the ocean to meet the people of
America and to talk with them about the
need of the Allies and the best ways of
giving aid. General Joffre, who was at the
head of his country's war council, had an
important place in this mission.

He and his companions reached the shores

104 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

of Virginia on April 24 and the next day
were received by the President and the
people of Washington with great honor.
During his stay in the Capital he visited
the House of Congress and listened to the
speeches of leading men of our country.

At that time one thought was strong in
Marshal Joffre's mind: American soldiers
were needed to stand in defense of liberty
beside the weary soldiers of France and
Great Britain. He must show this. The
people of the United States must see, as
clearly as he saw, that not only money and
supplies were necessary to the Allies, but
men full of health and strength and courage.
The United States, as this wise general knew,
had once fought a brave fight for freedom
under George Washington, the Father of
his Country. So it was that Joffre, whom
the French soldiers loved as a father, left
the Capital with a full heart to visit the
tomb of Washington.

Mr. Balfour, who represented Great Brit-
ain in the War Mission, went with him.

As they stood beside the tomb, Joffre laid

MARSHAL JOFFRE 105

a bronze palm bound with the tricolor of
France upon the marble sarcophagus. Mr.
Balfour placed a wreath of lilies beside the
palm. Then, turning to the people gathered
there, he spoke of the joy George Wash-
ington would feel if he knew that Great
Britain, France, and the United States were
now joined hand in hand for the salvation
of all men from the power that was striving
to enslave them.

From Washington the hero of the Marne
went to other leading cities in our country.
Wherever Joffre went he was met with joy
and great applause. In St. Louis over
fifteen thousand people crowded into the
Coliseum to see him and hear him speak.
Other thousands, remaining outside because
there was no more room within, made the
air ring with their singing of the 'Mar-
seillaise," and with shouts of 'Long live
France, Long live France!'

In Springfield, Illinois, where Abraham
Lincoln lies buried, Marshal Joffre knelt
down reverently and lovingly beside the
marble slab of his tomb.

106 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

At Philadelphia Joffre listened with strong
feeling to the 'Marseillaise' which three
thousand High School girls sang in his
honor. There he placed wreaths on the
grave of Benjamin Franklin and the statue
of Joan of Arc. Then, at the University of
Pennsylvania, he received degrees of honor
and afterwards rode through Franklin Field
to the cheers of thousands of people gathered
there to catch a glimpse of his kind, smiling
face.

But it was in New York City that Marshal
Joffre was most deeply touched. It was
at the singing of the school children who
gave him their greeting in City Hall Park.
He had received honors of many kinds.
The greatest people of the United States
had been doing all they could to show their
love and admiration for this noble hero ever
since he arrived here. But after all, nothing
pleased Joffre, the man of simple loving
heart, so much as the songs of greeting of
American boys and girls.

Joffre's love for the little folks showed
itself a day or two afterwards when it fell

MARSHAL JOFFRE 107

to him to unveil a statue of Lafayette in
Prospect Park, Brooklyn.

In the midst of the ceremony a little girl
came up to him to present a bouquet of
flowers. Suddenly she became fearful of the
watching crowds and the greatness of the
man before her, and burst out weeping.
And Joffre? Why, he did just what we
might expect. He reached down and took
not only the flowers, but the little girl into
his strong, loving arms.

Before leaving the United States Joffre
visited West Point and spoke hopeful words
to the military students there. He also
went to Boston; and at Harvard University
across the river, he reviewed the regiment
of young students already training for
service in the war.

When Joseph Joffre returned to France
he went with a glad and hopeful heart.
He had been welcomed in the United
States as a war hero. But more than this:
he knew that he stood to them as the
defender, not only of French liberty, but
of a holy cause, - - world freedom. Because

108 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

of his coming, America would be willing to
sacrifice more and serve more nobly in that
cause.

At last the good news was telegraphed
around the world that the terrible fighting
of more than four years had come to an end.
No longer was the sound of cannon heard
in France. No longer did the dreaded air-
plane hurl bombs down on innocent people.
No longer did the vile submarines hide be-
neath the waters of the sea, striking death
upon defenseless men, women, and children
without warning.

In the rejoicing that followed Joffre was
present in the hearts of his countrymen.

'He is one of the immortals,'3 they de-
clared. 'Like France, he can never die/3

No more fitting honor could be bestowed
upon him now, they agreed, than to make
him a member of the French Academy
where the greatest names in history had
a place. Here only the noblest statesmen
had ever been admitted, together with the
leaders in art, in literature, in the church,
in warfare. Here, without question, there-

MARSHAL JOFFRE 109

fore, must Marshal Joffre, the hero of the
Marne, be admitted.

As he stood up before a great gathering,
the sun burst through the clouds of a dark
day, shedding its brightness over all. Sim-
ple in manner as on entering the humblest
home of his native town, Joffre wore the
undress uniform of a Marshal of France
instead of the richly embroidered gown of a
member of the Academy, as he might have
done.

'It is as a Marshal of France that I enter
the Academy," he had said, "and it is
dressed as such that I shall present myself
there."

After he had made his address it fell to a
noted poet to reply. When he spoke of
Marshal Joffre as the victor of the Marne,
Joffre arose and said, 'It is not I, it is the
Poilu." Now, since the French word poilu
means a common soldier or private, Joffre
wished to express that it was not through
him, but through the devotion of his sol-
diers, that the battle had been won.

At his words, every person in the audience,

110 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

so we are told, turned his eyes up towards
the balcony, where a blind soldier was
standing at attention. On the instant all
burst into loud cheers, led by President
Wilson who rejoiced heartily in being pres-
ent when Joseph Jacques Cesaire Joffre was
given a place in the French Academy,
marking his name as one belonging to all
time, — as eternal.

JOHN JOSEPH PERSHING

The American Leader to Victory

JOHN JOSEPH PERSHING was very much
like other boys. He loved sports. He
enjoyed playing pranks. He was healthy
and hearty and had a good appetite.

Nobody said in those early days, That
boy, John Pershing, is a wonder. When
he grows up he'll certainly be one of the
great people of this country."

No, people didn't speak that way about
the lad, though they liked him and were
quick to see that he had 'the makings of a
man." And that was worth-while praise
to receive from the hard-working citizens of
Laclede, Missouri.

When John first opened his baby eyes, he
was lying in a simple bed in a small shanty
in the country, a little way out of Laclede
which in those days was a rough town near
the borderland of the wilderness.

John's father was a section boss on the
railroad. He had charge of the laying of

ill

112 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

a track which reached out from Laclede.
So, in order to be close to his work, he and
his young wife had gone to live in a tiny
house which, so it has been said, had be-
longed to the slave quarters of a certain
judge's plantation.

Mrs. Pershing managed to fix up the
shanty so it became quite a comfortable
little home, and here the first child that
came to the young couple, John Joseph,
was born September 13, 1860.

The Civil War broke out when little John
was only a few months old. By that time
his father's work on the new railroad was
done, and he moved his family into Laclede,
where he bought out a "general" store
containing all kinds of supplies. A regiment
of volunteers was stationed in the neighbor-
hood for training, and Mr. Pershing became
sutler to this regiment.

Soon afterwards another baby came to
the household, — John's brother James.
Then the troops quartered in the town
moved to St. Louis, and Mr. Pershing set
up business for the townspeople in the

JOHN JOSEPH i'ERSHIXc;

empty store. At the same time he became
postmaster.

A few months later he again became a
sutler, as another regiment had been quar-
tered in Laclede. Then, when it went
away, he returned to the business of keeping
the village store.

Little John began going to school before
he was five years old. Not to a public one,
however, because there was none in that
part of the town in those days. But a
young lady, a Miss Ella Seward, had opened
a private school for little children, and there
John and James were sent.

John was what would be called a " pretty'
boy at that time. He had pink and white
cheeks, bright blue eyes, and fair, tightly
curling hair. When the other boys wanted
to tease him they called him towhead.

In the course of time there were eight
brothers and sisters besides himself. Three
of these died when they were babies, but
there were still enough children in the
household to fill it with fun and laughter.

John's parents, however, did not believe

114 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

in spoiling their children. They were taught
to obey; and as they grew older all had
duties to perform which they were not al-
lowed to forget.

Then, too, the whole family attended
church regularly, because Mr. and Mrs.
Pershing were religious people. When the
Sabbath day came round, therefore, the
household was a very quiet one, and
the children put on their 'Sunday best'
clothes and made ready to start to church
with their father and mother. Mr. Pershing,
with John on one side and James on the
other, generally went ahead, while Mrs.
Pershing walked behind with her daughters.

Of course there was Sunday School for the
children too. Mr. Pershing was the Super-
intendent. Under his father's quick eyes
in that Methodist " meeting house" we may
be sure John was very quiet, with no thought
of whispering or giggling.

Now, though both Mr. and Mrs. Pershing
were strict with their children, they loved
them tenderly and did all they could to
make them happy.

JOHN JOSEPH PERSHINC 115

Young John loved them deeply in return
and was generally a well-behaved lad.
Yet, as he was a 'regular boy' after all,
he liked to have his own way, and got into
trouble in consequence.

For instance, there was the time he
chewed tobacco and became terribly sick
from so doing. A farmer, whom the boys
called 'Old Man Diggers," had a tobacco
plantation a little way outside Laclede.
A village lad, "Feather' Hawkins, who was
always setting his mates up to mischief,
stole some of the tobacco and brought it
into the town.

'I dare you to chew some of it,'1 he said
to eleven-year-old John.

Of course John accepted the dare, but
oh, how unhappy he was afterwards as he
lay on a haystack thinking over his foolish-
ness, and too ill to move!

Then there was the time when that same
bad Feather Hawkins and John's brother
James coaxed him to go into Mr. Mar-
grave's peach orchard to get fruit. Not at
night, mind you, when they might not be

116 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

seen, but when the sun was shining in all its
brightness.

"Old Margrave said we could come," de-
clared Feather Hawkins solemnly. 'Only
we mustn't shake the trees/3 he added.

John believed Feather, and so he boldly
followed him and James to the peach
orchard. And then Mr. Margrave's brother
came along and discovered them, and the
boys were scared and ran off with their
pockets stuffed full of peaches, and hid
among the tall stalks of corn in a near-by
field. But they were followed and again
discovered, and told that they must appear
before Mr. Margrave himself the next day.

Well, the three culprits bravely did as
they were told; they got to 'Old Mar-
grave's' home at the time they had been
directed to come. Moreover, he was such
a kind man and so pleased that they did
come, and the Hawkins boy talked so win-
ningly, that Mr. Margrave actually told
them they might visit his peach orchard
again and help themselves to the fruit.

"Only," he said, no doubt with a twinkle

JOHN JOSEPH PKRSHING 117

in his eyes, 4you must not shake the
trees."

John, like many another lad, was very
fond of pie. And there was one kind-
hearted little lady who was famous as a
piemaker. She was fond of Johnny Persh-
ing and always found it hard to resist the
longing look in his eyes when he appeared
before her, hungry for such 'sweeties' as
she knew so well how to make.

'He was a clean, well-behaved boy,"1 she
said long afterwards, 'always polite and
straightforward."

After the Civil War ended, a good many
people left the states along the eastern
coast and moved west to seek their fortunes.
Newcomers came pouring into the country
around Laclede. Mr. Pershing made haste
to buy land in every direction. He ex-
pected to gain a big fortune by selling it
afterwards in small lots to the new settlers.

Then the tide turned. People stopped
coming. John's father had a number of
farms, but no ready money because he had
put it all into the land. His expenses were

118 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

heavy because his family was large. To get
money he must raise crops on the farms he
had bought. So, when John was only thir-
teen years old, he had to work hard in the
fields, not only in the long vacations, but
much of the time each day when he was not
in school.

Whatever he did, however, whether worL
or study, or play, he did with all his might.

Notwithstanding that he saw it would
not be easy to get an education, he made up
his mind by the time he was fourteen that
he was going to have one. He told his chum
Charlie Spurgeon that he had set his mind
on it. He saw that his father would not
be able to pay for it entirely. He must
help himself.

When he was sixteen, Mr. Pershing got a
position as traveling salesman for a clothing
store. He was to have a salary of two
thousand dollars a year. This was very
good for those days; and yet with so many
children to care for, he could not help John
as much as he might wish.

Now, however, the young fellow took

JOHN JOSEPH PERSHING 119

charge of a country school at Prairie Mound,
seven miles from Laclede. He boarded dur-
ing the school days with a farmer in the
neighborhood, but every Friday night he
rode home on horseback. He was a tall
fellow by this time, with broad strong
shoulders and determined jaws.

There was a certain lad in the school, him-
self big and strong, who started out to have
his own way. The young teacher promptly
gave him a sound thrashing.

The boy went home to tell the story, and
when his father heard it he was wild with
anger. He started at once to 'have it
out' with the teacher who dared to thrash
his son. He was a giant of a man, much
bigger than young John Pershing. But
when he appeared, ready to give him a
thrashing in return for what his boy had
received, the school-teacher was quiet and
calm, and tried to use reason with him.

It was of no use; the man was too angry
to listen. Then, so the school children
afterwards said, young Pershing's lips be-
came very white, and his bright blue eyes

120 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

grew narrower and narrower, till they were
like steel-gray points.

'You get out of this house and off these
grounds, and stay off as long as I'm teacher
— or I'll kill you," he said slowly.

It was plain that he meant what he said.
The man was scared, at any rate. With
stumbling words he made some sort of
apology and slunk away. Furthermore, he
never again attempted to make trouble
for the young schoolmaster.

While John was teaching he saved all the
money he could from his small salary of
forty dollars a month. After a while he
had enough so that, with a little help from
his father, he was able to go to the State
Normal School which was in the next
county. He went for the spring term of
three months after the winter's teaching
was over at Prairie Mound.

When the term came to an end young
Pershing went home to work and teach till
the next spring should open. Then came
another three months' study at the Normal
School, as the youth was still determined to

JOHN JOSEPH PERSHING 121

get an education. His brother James and
his sister Mary Elizabeth went with him.

One day - - it was during young Pershing's
second term at the Normal School - - he
showed Mary Elizabeth something he had
just read in the newspaper: at Trenton,
about fifty miles away, an examination was
to be held in a few weeks for admission to
the great Military Academy at West Point.
The one who should receive the highest
marks in the examination would be chosen
to go.

"What shall I do about it?" the young
man asked. 'Shall I try?'

Mary Elizabeth knew that her brother
was anxious to get a good education.

" You had better make use of this chance/5
she answered thoughtfully.

Every night after that John sat up late
studying for the examination, while his
devoted sister gave all the help she could
quizzing him, because both of them knew
the test would be a hard one.

The important day came at last. It
found John Pershing at Trenton with other

122 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

young men eager to pass the examinations.
When it was over and all the papers had
been corrected, the marks showed that the
youth from Laclede stood the highest.

Great was his delight as he hurried home
to tell his parents of his success. It was a
happy surprise, as John had not let them
know anything about what he had been
trying for.

The next autumn the ambitious youth
bade his old friends good-by as he started
out on his first great adventure. He was
going far from the old home to take up an
entirely new life in a different part of the
country.

West Point! the very name suggested so
much. Students from the best colleges in
the United States would be there. The
sons of some of the most important men
would be the Laclede boy's companions.
Men of much learning would be his in-
structors. There would be strict military
training, for this was a college of war where
the students were taught how to become
officers of the United States Army.

JOHN JOSEPH PERSIIING 123

As far as the army was concerned, John
Pershing cared little. His main wish was
to get a good education, and of this he was
sure at West Point. So he started out on
his new life eagerly.

In a short time he showed both his
teachers and classmates that he was a natu-
ral leader of men. General Merritt, the
Superintendent of the Academy, long after-
wards said of him, 'He gave early promise
of becoming the superior officer he is now
known to be. He was earnest, ambitious,
energetic and manly."

Many a word of praise has since been
given by his fellow cadets also. One of them
has said of him, "He always had a set to
his jaw- -his determination was apparent."

Another one said: "He had a native dig-
nity - - a way of carrying himself that was
unusual in a youngster."

A third has spoken of the way he rode.
He said: "John was a splendid horseman.
Many's the time I've watched him. He
would do anything that required grit and
strength and skill."

124 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

John also, he stated, excelled at gymnas-
tics and in everything that required great
strength of arms and shoulders.

Young Pershing became such a favorite
among his mates that they made him the
class president when he had been at West
Point only a short time. Proud indeed
was he of the honor, and happy at having
so soon won the esteem of his fellow students
that he was the choice of every one of the
class.

Moreover, the young man gained for
himself the highest post a cadet could win
in each one of the four years he was at West
Point. In the freshman, or 'plebe' class,
as it is called at the Academy, he quickly
became ranking corporal, the next year the
ranking first sergeant, and so on.

Each of these ranks could be held only
the one who governed well. He must have
such power over his men that they were
quick to obey, willing and ready to do his
will. They must respect him and fear to
displease him.

Many a cadet lost his rank after winning

JOHN JOSEPH PKRSHING 125

it because he could not hold this power. In
fact, it was not easy to do so because when
drill was over, the privates and officers were
all good fellows together, playing jokes upon
each other, eating in the same halls, study-
ing in the same classes, with the difference of
rank lost sight of. Then, at the call to
drill, this common fellowship must instantly
be done away with, and the officer must
keep his men in as strict order as he would
if the commander in an actual battle.
Young Pershing, however, as has been said,
showed himself from the start a successful
leader.

He was not a remarkable student. He
had to work hard to pass in his studies. In
mathematics he never excelled as Joseph
JofTre over in France had done. Many a
night he sat up long after taps had been
sounded, trying to master a difficult lesson
for the next day's class.

One such time he got into trouble. The
rules of the Academy were very strict: at
a certain time every light must be out in the
cadets' rooms, and they must be in bed.

126 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

But young Pershing sometimes failed to
have mastered all his lessons by that time.
He would pin a blanket over his window so
that no tell-tale light could shine out, and
then keep on with his study.

One such night two of his friends joined
him, while his roommate went to bed and
to sleep. They were as quiet as possible, so
they felt quite safe. Suddenly they heard
a sound outside: the officer in charge was
coming up the stairs with long bounds.

Quick! not a moment to be lost! One
of Pershing's companions dashed across the
hall to his own room. The other jumped
into bed with the cadet who was asleep
there. Pershing himself made a dive for
the window, tore down the blanket and,
with his clothes still on, sprang into his own
bed after putting out the light.

Alas! try though he might to seem fast
asleep, he and his companions had been
discovered, and they met with due punish-
ment. Young Pershing, for his part, had
to walk six extra hours on duty for breaking
the rules!

JOHN JOSEPH PERSHINC; 127

He was much troubled when he did not
get along well in any one of his studies. It
came particularly hard for him to learn
French. Saturday afternoon, which was
the only free period in all the week, he would
often stay in his room and study instead of
joining his mates for a good time.

It was the fashion at West Point for the
upper classmen to haze, or 'devil' as they
called it, the freshmen or plebes.

One form of 'deviling' was what they
termed 'dragging.'3 Stormy weather was
often chosen because then there could be
more fun. The unlucky fellow to be dragged
was taken by surprise in the middle of the
night, pulled out of bed, carried outdoors,
and dragged the whole length of the com-
pany street. Along its sides, generally, a
goodly number of upper classmen were
drawn up with buckets full of water in
their hands ready to pour on the passing
victim. As if the falling rain were not
already enough to make him thoroughly
uncomfortable!

Pershing's boyhood chum, Charles Spur-

128 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

geon, has said, "But they didn't haze John
Pershing, although they attempted to
do it."

"Naturally/3 Mr. Spurgeon went on,
"John was on the alert in this matter of
hazing, for he suspected that he would be
chosen sooner or later to undergo some
sort of initiation at the hands of the hood-
lums.

"One night three men entered his room.
By the lateness of the hour he was con-
vinced that they came on no honest errand,
and he instantly chose a course of action
that proved his generalship.

"Without giving his uninvited guests
time to say a word, he just naturally
knocked the stuffing out of all three of them.
That was the first and last attempt the
West Pointers made to haze John Pershing/5

When the young student had been at
West Point for two years he went home, as
usual, on his summer vacation. One hot
day he and Charles Spurgeon went out into
the woods together. Lying down in the
shade of the trees, they talked of their boy-

JOHN JOSEPH PERSHING 129

hood days and of Pershing's life at West
Point.

'How do you like the army?' asked his
friend.

Pershing replied: 'I intend to finish the
course at the Academy, but then I will
probably study law.'!

This country is at peace now," he went
on. There won't be a gun fired in the
next hundred years. The army is no place
for me in peace times. I'd start in as a
second lieutenant, and I'd get to be first
lieutenant only when the first lieutenant
died. The world is going to be too peaceful
in the future to make the army look promis-
ing as a career.'1

The next two years went happily by.
Then, with the rank of senior cadet captain,
John Joseph Pershing graduated from West
Point and went out to begin his career, -
not as a lawyer as he had once planned, but
as a warrior. The love of his teachers and
classmates went with him.

First of all, he went home to spend a
happy summer's vacation with his family.

130 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

As he had now agreed to become a soldier
in the army of the United States, this vaca-
tion was called a furlough because at a
certain date he must go on soldier-duty
to whatever place the American Govern-
ment should order him.

At that time there was a good deal of
trouble with the Indians in the southwest-
ern part of the country. There were wild
tribes there who did not live contentedly on
the lands which had been given to them by
the white men. They liked their old life
of hunting better than tending cattle or
tilling farms. Many of them were fierce
and cruel. They raided the homes of white
settlers around them. They stole their
horses, and sometimes even killed the
settlers themselves. Alas! wicked white
traders had made matters worse by selling
Hre-water to the red men, and when they
drank it they were made more fierce and
cruel than ever.

Because of this bad state of affairs soldiers
had to be sent to the Southwest ; there forts
had to be built where troops were stationed

JOHN JOSEPH PERSHING 131

to keep the Indians from doing terrible
harm.

Now, when young Persh ing's furlough
came to an end, he was ordered to New
Mexico to help in defending the people
against the Indian raids. One fierce Apache
chief, Geronimo, had given himself up at
last after much dangerous hunting for him
and his band among deserts and canyons
and high mountains. But another chief,
Mangas, had still to be caught. No white
settlers felt safe while Mangas was still
at large. Why, he might appear with his
savage followers at any moment where he
was least expected, and scalp every one in
the little settlement he wras taking by
surprise.

Strange and dangerous adventures were
before the student from West Point as soon
as he appeared at his first post. He must
be in instant readiness both day and night
to go out with a troop, or perhaps only part
of a troop, on a hunt after the savages.
Whenever the word should be brought that
their track had been discovered, without

132 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

delay a company of soldiers - - twenty,
forty, or sixty of them perhaps - - must
spring on their horses' backs and ride out
in search of the red men. A quantity of
food large enough to last ten days was kept
always packed, ready to be bound on the
backs of mules to go with the expedition.
Each man also had close at his hand a
blanket and a goodly supply of ammunition
to carry with him.

Then, at a sudden word, the chosen party
of soldiers would ride out into the wilder-
ness. Over sandy deserts they would go,
where only the sharp-leaved cactus could
grow, and where water might not be found
in a long day's journey. Through high-
walled canyons they might have to urge
the tired feet of their horses, over sharp-
edged rocks, or up steep and winding
mountain trails. The sun's hot rays made
the sands of the desert burn like fire and
send up such waves of heat that the ears
and faces of the horsemen would crack
open in long lines. Lack of water through
many hours would make throats and

JOHN JOSKPII PKRSIIING i:tt

mouths so dry that the men could scarcely
shape words upon their lips.

Then, too, there was ever danger of sudden
attack from the enemy. The Indians knew
how to cover themselves with grass and
feathers and brush so well that they might
be concealed from the sight of the white
men, though close at hand. Moreover, they
could live a long time, if need be, on barren
mountain slopes, by feeding on field mice
and the juice of a certain kind of cactus.
Many of them were so strong that they
could run one hundred miles during a single
day.

It was no easy task, therefore, that brave
General Miles, who had charge of the cam-
paign against the Apaches, had in hunting
them down and making them surrender.
But he succeeded after a while, and there
was once more peace in that part of the
country. Before that peace came, how-
ever, General Miles had discovered what a
good helper he had in Lieutenant Pershing.
He once openly complimented him for
marching his troops with pack train over

134 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

rough country one hundred and forty miles
in forty-six hours, bringing in every man
and animal in good condition.

Let us hear what another officer who spent
many years in the Apache country had to
say about Pershing.

'In those days," so the officer declared,
"when a youngster joined a regiment he
was not expected to express himself in mili-
tary matters until he had had some little
experience. But there was a certain some-
thing in Pershing's appearance and manner
which made him an exception to the rule.
Within a very short time after he came to
the post, a senior officer would turn to him
and say, 'Pershing, what do you think of
this?' And his opinion was such that we
always listened to it.'3

The same officer also said, "We all learned
to respect and like him. He was genial and
full of fun. No matter what the work or
what the play, he always took a willing and
leading part/3

After peace had been made sure in the
Apache country Lieutenant Pershing was

JOHN JOSEPH PKRSHINC; i:-;r>

sent to other posts where there was plenty
of work for the soldiers scouting among
hostile tribes.

Many an exciting adventure had Pershing
during his life in the Southwest. Many a
daring deed he did. He took part in many
a scouting expedition filled with danger.
He directed the setting up of signal sta-
tions through wild stretches of country
where the red men might be hiding ready
to attack behind any little hillock or clump
of bushes.

During those years he was constantly
training his eyes so that on the instant they
would take in every little detail of the wilder-
ness over which he might be riding ever so
fast. He also became so skilled in shooting
that he won both silver and bronze medals
from the United States Government for
being an unusual marksman- -and this
within five years after he had graduated
from West Point.

Towards the end of 1890, word spread that
the Indians of the Northwest were gather-
ing together to make a big fight against the

136 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

white men. The settlers in that part of the
country were filled with terror.

There were several reasons for this Indian
uprising. They were short of food; many
of them were suffering from hunger; the
supplies the United States Government had
promised them were slow in coming; the
game was scanty.

Furthermore, some one among them
started a strange story that made them
believe they could easily conquer the white
men. The Savior was coming back to
earth, — - not to the proud and prosperous
white men whom many of the Indians
hated; but to the Indians who looked upon
themselves as poor and cruelly treated.
The glad time was close at hand, so the
story ran, when the Savior would come to
them out of the West, driving the wild
creatures they liked to hunt before Him.
Once more the deer, the antelope, and the
buffalo would wander over the plains near-
by, and the red men's heaven, the Happy
Hunting Grounds, would be on earth in
their midst.

JOHN JOSEPH PKRSHTNC, 137

It would be easy, they were told, to
destroy the American soldiers who might
be sent against them. They themselves
would be safe against the white men's bullets
if only each one wore a shirt with the head
of a buffalo painted on it.

So the poor ignorant creatures banded
together for fierce attack, while Ameri-
can troops were directed to hasten against
them from different parts of the country.
Perching, now a second lieutenant, was
ordered with the Sixth Cavalry to leave
New Mexico for the Northwest at once.

But the life was to be quite different from
that of New Mexico. There he had to
suffer from great heat and thirst while riding
over the deserts and among deep canyons.
Now - - it was midwinter when he reached
the new scouting-grounds - - he must bear
the most biting cold. Many a time he must
sleep at night on the snow, in the clothes he
had worn all day, after riding against bitter
winds for many hours. He must ford rivers
filled with cakes of floating ice.

Ah! but the young lieutenant enjoyed

138 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

the wild, hard life full of adventure. It
made him strong in body; it roused his
courage; it increased his will. When he
was a boy at school and on the farm, if he
set his will to do anything, that thing was
done. So now, in this life of danger in the
wilderness, he was determined to do his best,
and that best was accomplished.

After a while the principal Indian chiefs
saw it was of no use to hold out against
the powerful white men, and made peace.
Most of the troops were then sent to other
places. Pershing's company, however, was
kept for some time longer in that part of the
country to protect the settlers.

His adventures in the Indian country won
him strong praise from his superior officer,
Colonel Carr. He saw that Pershing knew
how to hold his men and was quick in under-
standing. Among other things in praise
of him the Colonel said afterwards that he
was " bright, active and energetic/3

During those years of wild adventure he
won the love of his soldiers for his thoughtful
care of them, as well as for his wise leader-

JOHN JOSEPH PERSHINC; 139

ship. The men in his company will always
remember the day he looked after them so
carefully when they were out on the open
prairie, far from any settlement, and a
blizzard was about to burst upon the
country.

After the camp had been quickly made,
the tents pegged down tightly to resist the
oncoming gale and drifting snow, and the
horses picketed, Pershing went about to see
that all his men were as safe as possible.
The cold was so terrible that he decided
fires would be needed to keep the men from
freezing during the approaching hurricane.
So he gave the order to a sergeant named
Stevenson for them to gather wood which
he had discovered along a near-by railroad
track.

"And be sure/' he added, "to tell them
to tie towels over their mouths and noses
before they leave their tents. This wind
is blowing so hard that a man can't get his
breath unless he's muffled/3

The sergeant, telling of this afterwards,
said: "That's the sort of officer Pershing

140 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

was, always thinking about his men, and
that's why the men would do anything for
him."

After many rough years of Indian scout-
ing, Lieutenant Pershing went to the
University of Nebraska to be military
instructor. There he quickly showed him-
self to be a remarkably fine teacher and
leader of the students in his charge. He
also studied law and received the degree of
Bachelor of Laws, which he had dreamed of
winning in his boyhood.

In the year 1897 he went to West Point to
be an instructor there.

Before very long, however — it was in
1898- -the Spanish War took place, and he
was sent with the American troops to the
West Indies. He went as a first lieutenant
in a negro regiment. There in Cuba he
fought so bravely that the colonel of his
regiment said of him: 'I have been in
many fights and was all through the Civil
War, but on my word he is the bravest
and coolest man under fire I ever saw in
my life."

JOHN JOSEPH PKRSIHNG 111

Pcrshing was next sent to the Philippine

Islands which were ceded to the United
States at the close of the war. It fell to
him to lead troops against the fiercest tribe
there - - the savage Moros who took pride
in cutting off the heads of their enemies and
afterwards keeping them about their homes
as prizes.

The Moros were driven from one place to
another. At last they took a stand in the
crater of a sleeping volcano. 'Here we are
safe/' thought the savages. The white
men cannot scale the steep slopes of this
mountain.'1

But Pershing and his men did scale those
slopes, and when near the edge of the crater
they cut a path through the jungle around
the mountain top.

Thus the Moros were hemmed in. They
must starve to death or surrender. They
surrendered.

Pershing remained in Moro Province for
several years as commander of American
troops stationed there, and as its governor.
During that time President Roosevelt, with

142 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

wise, far-seeing eyes, was watching his work
from distant America.

"Pershing is an unusual commander," the
President decided. 'He deserves promo-
tion." Accordingly Roosevelt raised him
to the high rank of brigadier-general.

In 1905 a war was going on between
Russia and Japan. There were lessons to
learn on the battle fields of those nations.
So it came about that Pershing went to
Manchuria where he was stationed with
Commander Kuroki, watching the methods
of Japanese warfare.

A few years later trouble arose between
the United States and Mexico. Mexican
bandits kept coming over the border of
this country, taking the settlers by sur-
prise, raiding their homes, and killing
innocent people. The worst and most
dangerous of these bandits was the half-
breed Villa, a cruel, savage man with many
followers.

Villa must be pursued and caught if the
people living on the borderland were to be
made safe, so the United States Govern-

JOHN JOSEPH PERSHING 143

ment decided. But what commander was
best fitted to lead the troops to be sent
after him? The country of northern Mexico
was very wild: there were steep mountains,
and deep dangerous canyons, and stretches
of burning deserts. Moreover, the leader
must be wise and cool-headed and must
understand the ways of Indian fighting.

The question was quickly answered: no
one was so well fitted for the high post as
John Joseph Pershing.

He quickly proved that the choice was
a good one. Through his wise command
the trouble with Mexico soon came to an
end, and the settlers on the borderland once
more felt safe. But during General Persh-
ing's stay there a terrible sorrow came to
him. Some years before he had married
the daughter of United States Senator
Warren. He loved his wife deeply, as well
as the little children who had come to them

- three daughters and one son, and it was
hard for him to have them so far away from
him. He managed after a while to have a
little home down near the borderland made

144 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

ready for their coming so that he might be
with them when not in active work.

Sad to say, just as all was prepared,
news came to the General that his wife and
daughters had been burned to death in San
Francisco. Only the son was saved.

Great must have been the General's
suffering. To an old friend in Laclede, he
wrote of his loss that it took more than
mortal courage to continue in the work his
country had given him to do. Nevertheless,
he did continue, and he performed that work
faithfully though his heart was sorely aching.

In the meantime the Great War was
raging across the ocean. One frightful deed
after another had been committed by the
Germans — some of them so horrible that
many American people could not believe it
possible for them to be true.

Before long things happened, the truth
of which could not be questioned. Bombs
were being sent out from airplanes, striking
and killing defenseless people far from the
field of war, — yes, even upon hospitals
where lay the sick and the dying. And

JOHN JOSKPII PKRSHINr, 145

there were attacks by submarines on
ships carrying passengers who had no
thought of taking part in the war. The
ships were sunk without warning, and the
people went down to sudden and dreadful
death.

Among these cruel deeds was the sinking
of the beautiful steamer, the Lusitania. She
was carrying hundreds of happy, innocent
people across the Atlantic. In an instant
their joy changed to horror. A torpedo
from a submarine had struck the ship, and
she \vent down to the depths of the ocean
without time for her passengers to escape
on lifeboats.

The Germans were not satisfied even with
their air raids, their submarines, and the
mighty engines of war they used on the
battle fields. They invented a deadly poison
gas w;hich was sent out without warning
against the armies of the Allies. As it went
sweeping on its way, it brought suffocation
and death in its train.

The time came at last - - the war had been
going on for more than two years then -

146 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

when the whole United States was roused
by what had been happening.

"This is not like any war that has ever
happened before," cried one after another.
'We cannot stand back and watch any
longer. We must join the Allies and make
war upon war. The cause is Right against
Might. We shall win because in the end
Right always does win."

After thus deciding, there were many
questions to answer. Would the United
States do her part by sending needed sup-
plies of food and ammunition to her Allies ?
What else could she send across the wide
Atlantic? Would it be possible to send
an army too, when all the soldiers must be
carried in ships with constant danger of
attack by submarines? This last did not
at first seem possible. Besides, there was
only a small number of troops in the whole
country. Men of this peaceful land would
have to be trained a long time before they
could be of any use in the terrible warfare
that was going on.

But alas! the British and French troops

JOHN JOSEPH PKRSHING 147

were very weary from long, hard lighting.
Tens of thousands ot them had already
been killed. Other tens of thousands had
been wounded or been made ill from suffer-
ing. The Russians, who had fought bravely
at first, had made a disgraceful peace with
Germany. The Italian army was brave
but small, and was kept busy resisting
Germany's allies, the Austrians.

If America did her part, she must raise
a big army, and it must cross the Atlantic.
Furthermore, it must have a strong, wise,
brave commander. That commander, it
was quickly seen, must be General Pershing.

No time was lost, once the mind of the
American people was made up. A few
weeks afterwards General Pershing was
crossing the ocean on the way to France.

As he paced the deck of the steamer, 'a
slim, trim, grim man," as an onlooker
described him, he had much to think of
since few of the soldiers he was to lead knew
anything about war. The number of ' ' regu-
lars' was small. One, two, three, perhaps
even four or five millions of American

148 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

soldiers might be needed before Germany
should be conquered. They must be trained,
and trained quickly, for the most terrible
kinds of fighting, - - in the trenches, with
the bayonet, against the deadly poison gas.
Some of the training could be done in can-
tonments in the United States. Still more
must follow after the men reached France.

Moreover, when they fought, it would
be in a strange land far from their loved
ones. They would have to resist not only
the Huns, but homesickness. They must,
therefore, be kept as happy and comfort-
able as possible. The wise leader had all
these things to consider. He must prepare
himself and the army that was being formed
for the great undertaking before him and
them.

On the eighth day of June, 1917, he landed
at Liverpool, England. As he stepped on
shore he was greeted by a British general
with a guard of honor. At the same moment
the band of an English regiment began to
play the 'Star Spangled Banner/3 It was
a glorious welcome, speaking to the new-

JOHN JOSEPH PERSHING 149

comer of England's happiness in receiving
the man who represented her sister country
and friend, the United States.

From Liverpool, Pershing went on to
London where King George and Queen
Mary, and high officers in the British army
and navy treated him with great honor.

But he could not tarry long even in the
greatest city in the world. He felt that
he must hurry over to France to plan for
the coming of his army. When he arrived
there the excitement of the people was even
greater than in England.

'I salute the United States of America
which has now become united with the
United States of Europe," General Dumas,
one of the French commanders, said to
Pershing when he greeted him at Boulogne.

It was an historic moment, as Pershing
declared afterwards: for the first time an
American in uniform had come to Europe
to help in defending it against an enemy.

Long lines of soldiers were drawn up in
the French city in honor of the guest. As
Pershing looked at these men he was deeply

150 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

touched; not fresh and light-hearted sol-
diers were they; but grim and war-worn
because they had seen long, hard fighting.
Yes, the need was great. The American
commander must show himself equal to the
immense work before him.

From Boulogne he hastened to Paris.
Never since the war began had a visitor
there received such a welcome as the great
American. Ranks upon ranks of soldiers
flanked the streets for many blocks. The
doorways and windows, the balconies and
housetops were filled with people to see
Pershing as he rode past. Tens of thou-
sands of men, women, and children were
waving the American flag and shouting
"Long live America!' Bands were playing
the "Marseillaise" and the "Star Spangled
Banner." Among the great Frenchmen
who greeted the American were Marshal
JofTre and General Foch.

Why was there such excitement at
the presence of one man? Because John
Joseph Pershing stood to those watching
thousands for America herself - - rich, beau-

JOHN JOSEPH PERSHING 151

tiful America - - who would send food to the
hungry, arms to the soldiers and, if need be,
millions of brave men to fight for right
against might.

While Pershing was in Paris he visited the
tomb of Napoleon, with General Joffre as
his escort. There an honor fell to him that
had never before been bestowed upon any
man. The sword of Napoleon was taken
from its case and placed in his hands that
he might kiss the hilt. The cross of the
Legion of Honor, which had once been
Napoleon's, was also placed in his hands.

The next day after this visit a great recep-
tion was given by the people of Paris to
Pershing and Joffre. As the two generals
stood on a balcony looking down at the
excited crowds, a young girl below suddenly
cried out: 'Long live Joffre who saved us
from defeat! Long live Pershing who
brings us victory!' At these words the
wildest cheering burst forth from the multi-
tude.

In his short stay in the city every possible
minute of Pershing's time was filled up

152 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

with dinner parties, a visit to the Senate,
a delightful lunch with Joffre, and cere-
monies of various kinds. The American
commander also went to the tomb of La-
fayette, the noble Frenchman who had
long ago come to the aid of America in the
darkest hours of the Revolution. Rever-
ently Pershing placed a wreath of roses
on the tomb, with joy in his heart that his
own loved country was about to pay the
debt she had long owed France.

But time was pressing as important work
had to be done, — the biggest job that ever
faced a soldier. So, as soon as possible,
Pershing set up his headquarters, with
Joffre and Foch to help him make plans
for his part in the war. One hundred
thousand soldiers would soon be in France.
These would be followed by others.

To begin with, airplanes, tanks, and
artillery in great quantities must be pro-
vided, as well as the food and clothing that
must be brought across the Atlantic in
abundance for the men who were arriving
by tens of thousands.

JOHN JOSEPH PERSHING 153

All these things had to be considered and
planned for. General Pershing also gave
much thought to ways for keeping his
soldiers happy and contented. When not
busy in the camps and trenches they must
be entertained. Ministers of the Gospel
must also be at hand to give them comfort
when lonely or ill. The Red Cross must be
helped in every way to do its noble work
most successfully.

Training camps were soon set up for the
American soldiers, where they were to learn
their A, B, C's in European warfare. So
fast they learned there that they astonished
their teachers. Wonderful to tell, scarcely a
year passed before they showed themselves,
under the skilful direction of their com-
mander, ready to fight like veterans of war.

For many months, however, they were
not fitted to meet the German foe as one
united army. In the meantime their spirit
to win grew ever stronger. So did their
longing to get into the fight and show what
American men could do in the cause of
justice.

154 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

With Pershing at their head how could
they help longing to get into the fight ? Had
he not said: "Germany can be beaten.
Germany must be beaten. Germany will
be beaten" ? It was for them to show them-
selves valiant soldiers as quickly as possible.
It was for them also to trust in God as their
commander bade them. It was for them,
Pershing's army, to be an honor to their
country which had never before fought for
anything but freedom, and it was to fight
through them for freedom now.

And yet, during Pershing's first year in
France, there was much to make him heavy
in heart. In the spring of 1918 the sky
looked blacker than ever. The British army
was thrown back. Then, rushing furiously
on, the Germans made their way towards
Paris, the heart of France. Full well their
leaders knew they had no time to lose.
American troops were arriving in the coun-
try by tens — by hundreds — - of thousands.
It must be now or never. Six months later
— perhaps three even — the Huns would fail
before the onslaught of immense new armies.

JOHN JOSEPH PKRSHINC; 155

Now! No delay then! Day after day
therefore the Hun pressed on. Nearer and
nearer they came to Paris! At last only
thirty-nine miles kept them from their goal.
The roar of battle could be heard in the
streets of the great city. Shells from long-
distance guns were already destroying its
buildings. Airplanes were hurling bombs
down upon its citizens each night.

A few days more! The Germans smiled
grimly as they thought of what was to
happen then. Surrender of the Allies!
Glorious victory for themselves !

Then suddenly came a change. A di-
vision of American troops which included
Marines was rushed to the front. There
was a gap there in the French lines, and they
were to pour in and fill it. On they hurried
to the battle ground, packed together in
trucks and cattle cars, when there was no
better way of getting there.

When they reached the danger point the
French commander bade them turn back.
He thought they were too late to give help.

But they and their brave leader did not

156 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

listen. They dashed forward with wild
yells. Into the very teeth of the monster
machine guns they rushed, armed only with
their rifles and bayonets.

"Don't go in this direction. There are
the boches with machine guns/3 shouted
some French soldiers who felt they were on
the way to certain death.

"That's where we want to go. That's
where we've come three thousand miles to
go," was the answer hurled back.

Great was the surprise of the Germans,
already sure of victory, to meet men like
these — fierce, careless of life beyond any
they had ever known. So this was the kind
of fighting they were to expect from Ameri-
cans! At the thought fear entered their
hearts.

When the fight ended many of that brave
division had lost their lives. But the
enemy had been checked in its march
towards Paris! The tide had turned! A
path to victory had opened!

All over France the story traveled. Ev-
erywhere there was the wildest joy. Gloom

JOHN JOSEPH PERSHING 157

had vanished. Men and women, boys and
girls, talked of the brave Americans who
had saved the day. And more were cross-
ing the ocean - hundreds of thousands
more! France would be saved through
their coming. The whole world was to be
saved.

When Marshal Foch was made com-
mander-in-chief of the armies of the Allies,
no one was more pleased than General
Pershing. He saw that the war could be
carried on with quicker success if there were
one head for all. Gladly he put his own
army under Foch's direction.

The great Frenchman had begun to see
what stuff that army was made of. When
six weeks after the fighting at Chateau-
Thierry and Belleau Woods, he began the
Great Drive to final victory, he ordered a
large part of the attacking force to be made
up of Americans. He also placed American
troops in the center of the line that would
keep back any possible approach of the
enemy towards Paris. It was the place
of honor.

158 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

From that day in July till the eleventh
hour of the eleventh day of November the
drive, once started, kept up without stop.
With new life, with new strength, with new
hope, the armies of the Allies kept pushing
the Huns eastward over the land they be-
lieved they had made their own. And none
fought more gloriously than the American
troops fired by the spirit of John Joseph
Pershing, the coolest and bravest of leaders.
He had made his men like himself.

The first time they fought as a united
body, Marshal Foch set a great task for
them to do. They were to drive out the
powerful German army from that part of
the country called the St. Mihiel salient.
The Huns had held it from almost the begin-
ning of the war. It was strongly fortified.
' Rock-bottomed and steel-ribbed' it has
been described. Behind it lay the powerful
fortress of Metz. Moreover, those young,
little-tried Americans were given ten days
in which to accomplish the task. Under
their cool, wise, brave leader, John Joseph
Pershing, who had unbounded faith in them,

JOHN JOSKPII PKRSHINC; l.V.)

they succeeded, and succeeded so thoroughly
and quickly as to astonish the whole world.
They had been given ten days, remember.
They did their work in thirty hours!

From that time on the Huns were pressed
back so fast that they were kept in constant
confusion. They failed to get their sup-
plies and ammunition as regularly as they
should. Thousands upon thousands were
killed and taken prisoners. They lost cour-
age. They grew weak with fear of the
terrible new army - - the American army -
that was upon them.

Then came the day that brought gladness
to many millions of people - - the day when
Germany begged for an end to the bitter
fighting- -the day when the fighting stopped
at eleven o'clock in the morning.

'I am glad I was in at the finish with
Pershing," was the common thought that
day of tens of thousands of American
soldiers. They had suffered many things -
cold and hunger and pain and loneliness.
They had met dangers too terrible to de-
scribe. But under their strong, wise leader

160 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

they had fought without flinching. With
their help right had overcome might.

And their commander, who has since said
of them, 'Their deeds are immortal, and
they have earned the eternal gratitude of
our country' -how did he feel when the
good fight was finished? As the long line
of bonfires burned along the borders of ( No
Man's Land' that night of November n,
telling the world in words of flame that the
blackness of war was at an end, Pershing's
heart must have been filled with joy that
his great task was so nobly finished, and the
cause of justice and freedom was triumphant.

SIR DOUGLAS HAIG

The Man of Iron Will

LET us think back a little way, say to the
summer of 1917. Let us pretend we are
leaving our beautiful United States and
crossing the Atlantic. The sky is clear
and blue. The breeze is gentle. The big
steamer scarcely rocks, so smooth are the
waters. Yet we feel danger about us every-
where. Anxiously we turn our eyes in
every direction, as we watch for the peri-
scope of a dreaded submarine. Several
times during the voyage we bind our life
preservers about us, so that we may know
exactly what to do in case of sudden attack.

Days pass, and we find ourselves safe at
last on the coast of France. Once more we
step on dry land, and journey inland.

We become excited as we realize that we
are drawing nearer and nearer the fighting
zone of the greatest war the world has ever
known. We think of the men gathered from

161

162 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

all parts of the earth to join the Allies
against the enemies of justice and freedom,

- tall strong men from Australia and New
Zealand; black men from Africa; solemn-
faced Hindus from India; Canadians firm
of will and big of heart. All these are
fighting side by side with the home-sons
of their mother country - - Great Britain.
Here, too, are millions of Frenchmen whose
hearts are afire with faith in victory, though
their bodies are well-nigh worn out. And
with them, at last, are the fearless troops
from our own United States, also filled with
courage and the belief that right will triumph.

We are moving now in a motor car over
broad highways. We meet and pass many
other cars containing men in uniform who,
it may be, are officers on the way to the
front to lead their men into battle, or else
returning from dangerous posts. The roar-
ing of the guns many, many miles away
reaches our ears. It makes us shiver.

Long ammunition trains and motor trucks
laden with provisions pass us by constantly,
since the millions of men who are fighting

Field Marshal Sir Douglas

SIR DOUGLAS IIAIG 163

must be kept supplied with shot and shell to
meet the attack of the enemy, and also be
furnished daily with plenty of nourishing
food.

Ah! here is a train of ambulances. It
travels slowly because the wounded men
within must be jarred as little as possible.

During our stay in this part of the coun-
try we wish to look in upon the French and
American commanders at their headquar-
ters. But now, our guide tells us, we hap-
pen to be but a short distance from Great
Britain's war center. Its chief, Sir Douglas
Haig, is there. Would we not like to pay
him a flying visit?

'By all means,'5 we answer.

Consequently, a little way farther on, we
turn into a side road lined with tall poplar
trees.

We travel for several miles along this
road. Then at last we enter the grounds of
a cheerful-looking country house. English
sentries, guarding the gate, make us halt.
They must assure themselves we mean no
harm.

164 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

When they have been satisfied, we pass
them by and enter the lovely grounds. Old-
fashioned gardens and shade trees welcome
us.

We enter the house and meet a number of
men in the greenish-drab uniform of British
officers. They are here on important busi-
ness — to talk over plans of war with their
commander-in-chief.

These officers pass in and out of a large
room used as the office of Chief Marshal
Haig. In other parts of the building" are
the offices of his helpers. As we listen,
we hear the busy click-click of the tele-
phone. No doubt it is sending messages
to,the battle lines, giving orders that mean
life or death to thousands of brave young
soldiers.

As the door of the big room opens we pass
inside. What a strange-looking place it is!
In the middle stretches a long raised map
made of gray and green clay. We notice a
network of red lines cutting across it in
different directions.

The man in front of the map, who is none

SIR DOUGLAS HAIG 165

other than Field Marshal Haig himself, is
studying it carefully! How graceful and
handsome he is! At first we think only of
this.

But almost immediately we say to our-
selves, 'What a strong man he is! What
power in the firm mouth and chin! How
keen are those steel-blue eyes!'

As we study Haig's appearance, we decide
that he looks all that a great commander
should. He is 'every inch a soldier," as
those who know him agree.

He is dressed in a uniform of khaki.
Across his heart are fastened many ribbons
and decorations, each one telling of battles
in which he has taken part with honor and
of victories he has won. He wears high
polished boots, and at his sides silver spurs
rattle as he moves his legs. When he rises
from his chair and steps forward to greet
us, his gait is that of a man who has spent
much of his time in the saddle.

He is quiet and even shy in his manner,
this general who has seen much of war. He
is pleasant and kindly, but when he turns his

166 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

clear blue eyes upon us, we feel that they
pierce us through and through, and we would
not like to vex him.

And now he turns back to his work, study-
ing the map of war and planning a campaign
that shall help in bringing success to the
Allies. Every little hill and dale in the
country where his troops are stationed is
shown on the map in front of him. This
very hour he knows what is happening there.
The telephone, the telegraph, and wireless
messages from airplanes flying above the
battle keep him posted. As he listens, he
changes his plans and sends out new orders.
From this quiet room, therefore, strange as
it may seem, he can guide his men at the
front better than if he were in their midst,
because here he can have a clear view of
what is taking place in all directions.
Truly, war to-day is strange and wonderful,
as well as terrible.

As we look at this brave, strong man, it is
difficult for us to think that once upon a time

- it was in the year 1861 - - he was a help-
less baby in his nurse's arms. The home of

SIR DOUGLAS HAIG 1(>7

little Douglas was in Cameronbridge, in the
county of Fife, on the eastern coast of Scot-
land. Fields of flax with its delicate blue
flowers lay in the country around him. Like
one of those tiny blossoms the fair-haired,
blue-eyed baby might have seemed to his
parents. Later on, as he grew into a strong
sturdy boy, and then into a man of steady
will, he could be likened to the linen made
from the flax of Scotland, which is strong
and enduring, and greatly to be desired for
the service which it gives.

The boy Douglas was faithful in his
studies. So, when he was found to do well
in school, it was decided that he should go
next to the great University of Oxford in
England.

After the young Scotchman had settled
down to his studies in Oxford, his mates
soon came to admire him. To be sure, he
did not talk much. He was shy and not
what they could call, 'chummy/' They
did not feel as free to chaff him as they did
most of their fellows. He did not enter
freely into all of their sports. But he

168 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

'meant business," — that was sure. More-
over, he did enjoy one sport — that of rid-
ing horseback.

Every afternoon he could be seen riding
along the beautiful country roads on his big
gray horse. Many a time a group of
students would stop their talk to watch him
as he went.

'There goes young Haig," some one
would say. 'He's going to be a soldier/1

Indeed, it was during the years at Oxford
that Douglas Haig made up his mind to take
a soldier's training and enter the army. In
no other work would he be satisfied, he felt
quite sure.

In those college days, he took part in many
a fox hunt. The excitement of the chase
gave him keen delight. He rode so well that,
as he flew over the ground, jumping fences,
leaping ditches, springing suddenly now to
this side, now to that, it seemed as if he
and his horse were one.

When Douglas Haig had graduated from
college and entered the 7th Hussars, he was
twenty-four years old.

SIR DOUGLAS HAIG 109

'Rather late to enter upon the training
of a soldier/' many might say. Let us
see.

But now something happened which
seemed likely to change young Haig's plans
and dash his hopes. When he was examined
by the medical board he was told he could
not enter the staff college because he was
found to be color-blind. A very bad thing
indeed for the success of a soldier, it cer-
tainly seemed. Many another young man
had been denied military training on this
account. So it was with him.

But he would not give up hope. The
Duke of Cambridge, the commander-in-
chief, believed he showed promise and
came to his aid.

'Let him be admitted," he said.

Of course the word of so great a man as
the commander-in-chief must be heeded,
and Douglas Haig started out with great
delight on the path he had chosen. From
now on everything went well.

In the year 1898 there was much trouble
in Africa, in the country of the Sudan lying

170 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

south of Egypt. Wild tribes there were at
war with one another and on neighboring
Egypt. Moreover, the most cruel slavery
of black people was going on in the Sudan, -
innocent natives were being tortured and
put to death. The lives of people were not
safe. There was no one wise and powerful
enough either in Sudan or Egypt to rule
over the country there and carry out laws
for the good of all.

'Will you not send soldiers to help us?'
the Egyptian ruler asked Great Britain.

"Yes," came the answer.
Now, among the troops who boarded the
transport bound for Africa was the Scotch-
man of iron will, Douglas Haig. He was
starting out on an adventure filled with
danger, he well knew. He would soon find
himself in a wild country in which there were
lawless, passionate men who knew little of
the ways of civilized people. He must
suffer from great heat, because the Sudan
lies but a short distance from the equator.
He would be likely to march through damp,
hot marshland with the air laden with fever,

SIR DOUGLAS HAIG 171

and the tangle beneath his feet the hiding
place of poisonous snakes.

Thoughts of these things had no terror
for Douglas Haig. He was to gain experi-
ence in actual righting, - -that was enough.

After he had arrived in the Sudan he came
upon many new and strange sights. There
were long trains of camels coming down into
the country from the desert of the Sahara
farther north. There were strange villages
here and there in the wilderness where the
best-made homes were only rough, thatched
huts. There were people unlike any he
had seen before, with dark skins and fierce
eyes, and with gay-colored turbans wound
around their heads to protect them from the
burning rays of the sun. But there was a
city even in this wild country of the Dark
Continent - Khartoum was its name - - to
which a railroad had been built from the
city of Cairo in Egypt; and here in Khar-
toum Douglas Haig found that many of the
inventions of white people had been set up.

Hunters often entered Khartoum, bringing
the tusks of elephants they had killed in the

172 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

African wilderness. The ivory which they
sold to the traders would be sent to distant
countries. So, too, would the thousands of
ostrich feathers brought by the natives of
the surrounding country, and large bags
of dates gathered from the palm trees of
neighboring lands.

You can easily guess, however, what was
of most interest to the man from Fife: it
was that here in the Sudan he was to take
part in actual fighting. He was to do his
part as a British soldier in teaching the wild
chiefs of the Sudan what law means. He
was to help in putting an end to the wicked
slavery of men, women, and children.

Douglas Haig was not disappointed. He
took part in many a fierce fight under the
great General Kitchener who commanded
the expedition. He showed himself with-
out fear. General Kitchener began to take
notice of him and made him his friend.
This quiet man of strong will, the general
had discovered, was no common soldier.

While Haig was in the Sudan he was in the
thick of the fighting at Atbara and Khar-

SIR DOUGLAS HAIC,

touni, and acted so bravely that he received a
medal from the British Government and
was made a brevet major on account of his
services there.

Now, after the troubles in the Sudan had
been settled, he was sent to South Africa to
take part in the Boer War.

The Boers were people whose ancestors
had come from far Holland to settle in South
Africa. In this new home they had started
farms and sheep ranches, and as they needed
more workmen, they had made slaves of the
negroes who lived in the country around
them. A few of the Boers did not think it
right to hold slaves, and asked their English
friends to send soldiers to put a stop to the
slave trade.

An army was soon on its way to the
Transvaal, the country of the Boers, and in
it was Major Haig. He soon became chief
of staff for General French, much older than
himself and a long-tried soldier. He fought
in one battle after another and became noted
for his bravery.

Before the war came to an end he had won

174 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

for himself the long title of deputy-assistant-
adjutant-general, and he went back to Eng-
land with medals which he had won in the
campaign shining upon his breast.

What did the soldiers who had fought with
this daring companion in the Sudan and
South Africa have to say of him after-
wards to their friends? Little indeed, except
words like these:

'We don't know much about him except
that he 'made good' wherever he was
placed/' Then perhaps some one would
add: 'He came from Fife, you know. So
he never talked much.'3

Indeed, while Haig's fellow soldiers could
not help admiring him, he spoke so little,
and was so quiet and almost shy, that few
felt acquainted with him.

There is one story, however, that the men
who fought with Haig in India like to tell.
It shows how different he was from many of
the soldiers around him. Unlike them, he
did not drink strong liquor, or swear, or play
cards for money. He had been brought up
to obey the Ten Commandants and love the

SIR DOUGLAS HAIG 175

church. The Bible was to him, therefore,
his most precious possession.

One day, at a very exciting time in the
war, so the story goes, he had to move with
his troops very rapidly from one place to
another. When he came to a standstill,
the quartermaster noticed that Haig's face
looked much troubled as his eyes turned
first in one direction, then in another.
' Have you lost anything?' he asked.
cYes, my Bible," was the solemn reply.

What was before this young officer now
that there was no more fighting to do?
There was plenty of work still ; he was soon
made a director of military training at the
War Office.

He did not remain long at this post, but
was sent on a long journey to the other side
of the world. There, in India, which was
ruled over by Great Britain, British troops
were always stationed to keep the country
in order, and Major General Haig was to be
Director General there for the next three
years.

As he rode about through the country he

176 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

looked upon many interesting sights, vastly
different from what Africa had shown him.
He passed temples to strange gods, richly
decorated with gold and jewels; he met
native princes in gorgeous robes; he saw
elephants moving along the roads with
stately tread.

During the General's stay in India he
spent much time in reviewing the British
troops whose business it was to keep order
in that strange land, and prevent different
chiefs from leading their tribes against each
other.

In the year 1905 General Haig mar-
ried an English lady, the Honorable Doro-
thy Vivian, a chosen attendant of Queen
Alexandra; and in course of time little
children were born to the busy officer and
his wife.

So faithfully did he serve England in his
charge of the cavalry in India that in 1909
he was made chief of staff. In that post he
continued till 1912, receiving much praise
for his careful training of the men under
him.

SIR DOUGLAS 1 1 Aid 177

Then back to England he sailed to become
commander of the principal military camp
there. No one saw more clearly than he
that British soldiers must be trained well,
for ahead of them there might be hard work,
which would need the greatest skill.

As it happened, General Haig had visited
Germany years before. While there he had
noticed the care taken in the training of
German soldiers. He had also noticed
many preparations being made that would
render it possible for Germany to fight if
war should break out. At the same time he
saw the love of power of the German people,
and how that power could grow if the coun-
try gained new possessions. She had already
taken Alsace-Lorraine away from France.
What might she not do next ?

When this clear-eyed general returned to
England, he said, "A war with the Kaiser
will surely come. We must prepare our-
selves for it."

Did those who heard him heed his words?
No, they believed there could be no possible
danger. Why, it was foolish to consider

178 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

such a thing, they declared. England
wanted to be at peace with other nations,
and without doubt they had the same wish
for themselves.

So the years passed, and Great Britain
made no preparations, while Germany went
steadily on, making her armies better trained
and her forts stronger. At the same time
German inventors were preparing more
deadly weapons than ever known before to
bring destruction upon those to whom their
country might not feel friendly.

At last, in the year 1914, the Great War
burst upon the world. Few besides General
Haig had discovered the shadow of its
coming.

From his post at the Training School of
Aldershot he heard that little Belgium,
through being faithful to her word, was in
sore danger. Hordes of Germans, on their
way to France, had broken in upon her
peaceful fields. They had started out well-
prepared. They believed that by marching
through Belgium, they could easily reach
Paris. With Paris conquered, the whole of

SIR DOUGLAS HAIC, 179

France would quickly be theirs. Then how
easy it would be to cross the English Chan-
nel and bring Great Britain to kneel at
Germany's feet.

And then, with Great Britain's ships-of-
war made powerless to help, the German
troops would cross the ocean and invade the
United States. How simple it seemed to the
war-lords of Germany to make the whole
civilized world their prize.

Not a moment must be lost. All of Sir
Douglas Haig's countrymen agreed with
him as to this. The British soldiers must
be banded together without delay to cross
over to the mainland and meet the onrush
of the Germans.

Unfortunately, the brave youths of Great
Britain were not prepared for the terrible
conflict ahead. Yet the men who made up
'the contemptible little English army,'3 as
the Germans scornfully spoke of it, were
prepared to do the best they could. Two
Army Corps were made ready with all
possible speed to go to the rescue of France
and Belgium. They were in charge of Lord

180 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

French to whom, as you remember, Douglas
Haig had been the right-hand man while
fighting in South Africa.

General Haig was made commander of
one of the army corps, which held a large
part of the cavalry. He was soon in the
thick of the fighting - - more terrible than
any he had ever dreamed of before. Now he
had a chance to show what he had learned in
past years. He also had the chance to
show what kind of soldier the County of
Fife could still produce - — how strong and
steady of nerve, how full of courage a man's
heart could be.

The first months of the war were among
the hardest of all for that brave First Corps.
There could be no let-up, if they were not
to give way before the onrushing Germans.

'Our foes must be driven back across the
Marne, if they are not to win speedy vic-
tory/3 the British commander-in-chief,
General French, saw clearly, as did General
Joffre, commander of the French army.
But alas! the German army was vastly
larger than the number of English and

SIR DOUGLAS HAIG 181

French troops which could be brought
against them.

"What of that! Victory lies in the will,"
thought Haig,who was still General French's
right-hand man.

Always believing in success, he kept up
the courage of his men so that each one
among them strove to act as a hero should,
and was ready to attack anew when he
caught sight of the 'man of iron' who
commanded them. Haig forgot himself en-
tirely at such times. He only saw the need
of checking the course of the terrible, heart-
less foes.

Let us look at the soldiers of the Allies
for a moment, as they were fighting the first
battle of Ypres, when the invaders were
determined to push on till they reached the
seacoast of Belgium. Many times their
number were the Germans, and with the
military training of years.

The British troops had to be drawn out in
places into the thinnest of lines. Against
them were heavy masses of the enemy. Yet
with Haig as leader they dared death hour

182 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

after hour. They must bring glory to him
and to their country.

Had not Lord French given the com-
mand, 'You must hold"? And was not
Haig, the man of dauntless will, with the
First Corps that day, when more men were
so sorely needed that even cooks turned
from the preparations for dinner, and order-
lies left their usual camp duties to join the
fighters in the trenches ? The fighting was
terrible and bloody, but under the brave man
of Fife the enemy were checked. Hence-
forth that First Corps would be known as the
'Iron Brigade/' The leader had made his
men like himself — men of iron.

In the midst of the battle, down the
shadowy road of death, rode a horseman
with shrieking shells bursting about him,
and men dying from sudden wounds on
every hand. Yet he moved as calmly and
peacefully as if out for pleasant exercise on
a holiday.

At sight of their commander the weakest-
hearted of his men returned to the fight.
His straight figure, dressed as carefully as

SIR DOUGLAS HAIG 183

for parade, his strong chin, his fearless, blue-
gray eyes all said: 'Now is the time, -
now, now, to dare your utmost."

The presence of Douglas Haig no doubt
turned the fortunes of the British that day.
The German army was stopped in its course.
It failed to reach the coast across which lay
England. It had been checked through
the will of an army many times smaller
than itself. And the will of that army was
made strong and steady through the will of
the man from Fife.

Only a few days after that ride, every
moment of which was filled with danger,
General Haig had a very narrow escape from
death. He had just left headquarters to ex-
amine the lines of troops. He left behind
him his staff officers. Suddenly a shell sent
out by the Germans burst in their midst.
Almost all the officers gathered there were
killed or wounded. But their chief who
had been with them so short a time before
had escaped.

'A lucky dog," his men called him when
they heard of what had happened.

184 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

But this was not the first narrow escape
the great general had had in his life. Years
before, in South Africa, he had been saved
a number of times almost by accident, as
some might say. But not so! He had
work ahead — a great work that only he
might do — and death had to stand back
before him.

From the beginning of the war the com-
mander-in-chief's report gave great praise
to General Haig. He wrote of the skilful
way in which he had directed the First Corps
when his troops had to retreat from Mons.
It was in the blackness of night. If one
wrong move had been made, they would have
become powerless in the hands of an enemy
far greater in number than themselves. But
General Haig made the right move, and
when morning came the First Corps had
reached a place of safety.

Soon afterwards, at the Aisne, the bold,
clear-headed leader got his troops into such
a commanding position that General French
was able to make a stand there for over

SIR DOUGLAS HAIC, 185

three weeks, though the attacks of the
enemy were very fierce.

Eighteen months of bitter warfare passed.
Many were the daring, skilful deeds of
General Haig during that time.

But the war was not going as well for the
Allies as they wished. Many people had
begun to find fault with the British army.
They said, ' General French is a fine man
and a great soldier, but he has made some
sad mistakes."

They considered what he had done in the
Sudan and in South Africa. There was
nothing to be said against his fighting there.
He had led his men wisely and gained great
victories. But this present war, with its
trench fighting, was far different from any
other in the history of the world, and the
present commander did not seem to under-
stand trench fighting aswell as he had under-
stood the battles in the open in Africa.

'Someone else may do better in his place,53
it was suggested.

Who would do better than General

186 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

French? Only one man could be thought
of, — General Haig.

And yet, before 1914, this Fifer had never
commanded in action a larger body of men
than a regiment! Since the Great War
opened he had commanded a corps, to be
sure. But now to be placed at the head of
four millions of men, - - to have full charge
of the whole British army in France and
Flanders! Was it possible for him to
succeed ?

Every one felt, however, that some
change must be made. So the word went
forth, "Let Haig have his try/3

We know now what his 'try' meant in
saving the world from the power of the Huns.
At the head of the British army General
Haig kept on his careful, patient way toward
final victory. Victory would come! Oh,
yes, he was always sure of this. But not
as quickly as some believed and all hoped.
The enemy were strong in number. They
had large supplies of food and ammunition.
And as they did not scorn to treat the sacred
agreement with Belgium as a scrap of paper,

SIR DOUGLAS HA Id 1S7

so they did not scorn to use unheard-of
cruelty in their warfare.

For instance, there was the use of poison
gas which was set free to suffocate the
armies opposed to them. There were the
submarines with which Great Britain's navy
had to fight long and faithfully. Other in-
ventions there were - - guns of tremendous
power, and Zeppelins to raid the air.

In the face of all these terrors the
new commander- in -chief pushed steadily
on, thinking, planning far ahead. There
was the Somme offensive, for instance.
Haig was preparing for it through long
months.

You know how a mouse makes a way for
itself through a strong wall. Bit by bit it
nibbles into the wood, a little to-day, and
a little more to-morrow, and the next
day; and so on, till at last it has worked
out a passage through the darkness and
into the light.

So it was with the determined Scotchman,
and those who watched him came to speak
of the 'Haig nibble' which was bound in

188 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

the end to bring his troops through what
seemed the darkness of failure out into the
light of success.

So the days and the weeks and the months
went by with General Haig steadily at his
post. Each morning found him at his desk
at nine o'clock, ready to talk over what was
happening with the heads of the different
departments of the army. On his desk
reports were piled up of what had taken
place during the night. Every one must be
studied, for something might have hap-
pened in the hours of darkness which would
require an important change in commands.

Thus the time passed till lunch, after
which the commander spent a quiet hour
by himself. He needed to think over all
he had seen and read and heard, and dis-
cover if his plans required changing.

Then came a short period of recreation,
when Sir Douglas Haig went out for a ride
on horseback. No matter how hard it
might rain he took this ride, with one or two
officers to keep him company. He knew
that without the help of outdoor exercise

SIR DOUGLAS HAIG 189

he might not keep strong in body and clear
in mind.

When the ride was ended there were
more talks with war leaders in the head-
quarters office, and fresh news to discuss.
Then came a pleasant dinner when the
commander-in-chief showed kindly thought
for those who gathered around the table
with him. Soon afterwards the household
settled down for the night's rest.

Could the war-chief always seek rest
early like the others? Surely not! Many a
night while they were sleeping he must have
spent hours studying his maps and aerial
photographs, while he planned how best his
armies should carry on the fight.

There were many gloomy and danger-
ous times when the hearts of great numbers
of the Allies were heavy. But never would
Sir Douglas Haig allow himself to think of
anything but final victory. Even when the
outlook was very black - - it was after the
Germans had begun their terrible drive in
the spring of 1918 - -he kept his men filled
with hope and courage.

190 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

'The British army must be broken." So
the German high command had decided.
The great offensive began on March 21.
On poured the tremendous German army,
spread out in lines extending nearly sixty
miles. It drove onward in dense masses,
sending forth a deluge of gas. The thunder
of its big guns roared through the air for
miles around, and gas clouds spread far over
the earth.

Haig realized only too well how great was
the danger: the army massed against his
own was at least twice as large ; it also had
far greater power of guns. Clear in head
and strong of will, however, as always, he
gave his commands, even though at times
they must be for his men to fall back before
the awful drive of the enemy.

Day after day the battle raged - — yes,
week after week — while fresh divisions
of German troops kept arriving to take the
places of those which had been shattered.

Weary and worn were the hard-pressed
British soldiers now. Yet still they fought
with all their might, kept up by the will

SIR DOUGLAS HA 1C 191

and the faith of their leader. Never, in all
history, were braver deeds done than by
those British troops in the early spring of
1918. Never was a nobler spirit shown
than that of the men under Sir Douglas
Haig. Never were greater heroes than
those inspired by him.

Yet still they were forced back, back,
back, till the time came when they must take
a stand and strive to hold it to the last man.
Around them, outside the fighting lines,
was a beautiful world. The sky was of
the softest blue. Birds were singing gaily.
Cherry and apple orchards were in blossom,
filling the air with fragrant odors. The
fields were freshly green. It was Sunday
the day that should be one of peace.

But on the wide stretches of the bat-
tle ground were darkness and death and
the prolonged and awful struggle. To the
weary British soldiers an order from their
commander had just come.

'Many among us now are tired/3 he
said. 'With our back to the wall each
one of us must fight to the end/3

192 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

Tired and worn indeed were those who
received that command — so tired and
worn that their bodies kept moving only
because their wills were strong. With their
'back to the wall" — yes, they must hold
the thought steady in their tired minds —
they must, each one of them, be willing to
" fight to the end/'

There were hard and terrible days still
before them, but they did not give up; and
at last long lines of French troops came
marching up the roads to give help, and
the deadly purpose of the Germans was
never carried out. The iron will of Douglas
Haig had kept strong and mighty the will
of his soldiers through a time of terrible
danger, and the might of will is ever greater
than the might of brute force.

Thus the offensive, which the Germans
had planned so carefully and in which they
had such high hopes, finally ended in failure
for them. Then, in July, the Allies, with
the aid of American troops, no longer stood
merely on defense, but in turn began a fierce
and steady attack upon the enemy. Under

SIR DOUGLAS HAir,

that attack the German troops were forced
steadily backward over the ground they
had taken and, on November n, 1918, the
terrible warfare came to an end. Germany,
having lost all hope of success, asked for an
armistice and her request was granted.

No longer could the roaring of guns be
heard. No longer \vere men losing their
lives in the greatest war of history. No
longer did General Haig, patient, untiring,
determined, need to study his maps and
direct new attacks. Peace was at hand.
Now at last, after years of faithful service,
he had finished his great task, deserving
full well to rest on the laurels he had won.

FERDINAND FOCH

The Savior of the Allies

ONCE upon a time — it was on the fourth
of August of the year 1851 — a baby boy,
to whom the name Ferdinand was given,
was born in the old town of Tarbes in south-
western France. The baby's father, Mon-
sieur Foch, had a position in Tarbes under
the government.

The boy grew up strong and healthy,
though he was a slender little fellow, and
not as tall as some of his playmates of the
same age. He had clear eyes of gray-blue
which looked directly into the faces of those
to whom he spoke. His chin and nose were
strong and decided. Though he was quiet
he had a "will of his own," as people say.

The boy had two younger brothers, so
with his older sister and himself there were
four happy children in the family. They
were carefully trained in religious teachings,
as their parents were very pious. So they

194

Marshal Ferdinand Foc-h

FERDINAND FOCH l<>r>

grew up loving their church and faithfully
saying their prayers, and listening with
wondering eyes to the tales of miracles
performed long ago.

Why, only a few miles away from Tarbes
was a grotto famous for the cures made by
its holy waters! A little peasant girl named
Bernadette, so the story ran, was told by the
Virgin herself of the miracles that could be
performed by means of these waters. Since
Bernadette's time many a procession of sick
people had passed through Tarbes on the
way to this grotto, and many a cure they
had to tell about when they stopped in the
town on their way back.

In his home Ferdinand listened to story
after story about the valiant deeds of his
grandfather Duprc. In his young days
this brave soldier had fought in a war with
Spain, under the great Emperor Napoleon.
Because of his bravery at that time this
grandfather had been made a Chevalier by
Napoleon.

Little Ferdinand, as well as the rest of the
family, almost made an idol of the old man.

196 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

War, so the lad must have thought, was a
dreadful but very wonderful thing. Surely
there could be nothing better in the world
than to become a warrior and fight for
France.

In the country around Tarbes there were
numerous farms where strong and beautiful
horses were raised. Many of them belonged
to an Arabian breed that was fleet-footed
and especially suited to the use of soldiers in
the French cavalry. Ferdinand learned to
ride horseback when he was quite small and
always afterwards enjoyed the exercise.

Probably the most exciting days of the
year were those given up to horse races and
markets. Then the boy would watch the
people flocking in from smaller towns and
villages, dressed in their best garments and
all eager for the coming good time. Some
were peasants and wore the bright costume
of their class. Others were wealthy land-
owners and merchants prepared to buy the
best horses for sale that day. The hand-
some men of Navarre could be easily marked
because of their carefully braided hair. So,

FERDINAND FOCH 197

too, the strong Catalonians, because of their
dark skins and long, heavy hair. Altogether
the horse fairs gave the Foch children plenty
to talk about for many days afterwards.

Ferdinand's first school was in an old, old
building which had a quaint prayer in the
Latin tongue cut into the wall over the
doorway.

'May this house," so the inscription ran,
'remain standing until the ant has drunk
all the waves of the sea and the tortoise has
crawled around the world/5

It is easy to understand that if the
builder's prayer were granted his work would
last a long, long time - - to the end of the
world, in fact.

Ferdinand did not live many years in
Tarbes. He was still a schoolboy when his
father was made paymaster for the treasury
at Rodez about two hundred miles away.
There he and his family stayed for a while;
after which he went to Polignan and then to
St. Etienne, where he became tax collector.
At each of these places Ferdinand went to
school.

198 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

"The lad has an exact mind," his teachers
soon decided. 'He is particularly good in
mathematics. He has the kind of mind
that should be trained at the great Poly-
technic Institute in Paris."

Monsieur Foch believed that the teachers
were right : Ferdinand deserved a fine edu-
cation.

"Though I am far from rich, he shall have
it," decided the good man.

Accordingly, when the youth was ready
for the work there, he entered the famous
Jesuit school of St. Clement at Metz in the
beautiful province of Lorraine. There he
found himself among students from all parts
of Europe.

Over the borderland to the east lay
Prussia, a country strong and powerful, and
jealous of France's rich eastern provinces.
But Metz was well fortified. All around
it were strong forts. It had nine gateways,
each of which must be entered by means of
a drawbridge.

There was an arsenal at Metz, containing
about eighty thousand muskets, and there

FERDINAND FOCH 199

was a hospital for sick and wounded soldiers.
On one side there was a redoubt that formed
an island, from which there was an under-
ground entrance to the city. Yes, Metz
would be a mighty stronghold against any
jealous foes who might try to enter France
on the east.

In this fortified city there was a fine
cathedral, and a famous old church, and
the abbey of St. Vincent with a history of
its own. Ferdinand looked upon these
buildings with great reverence, because he
was a very religious youth. Though he was
anxious to learn his lessons well, he was
equally faithful in his duties to the church.
Never was a day too busy for him to forget
those duties in prayer, or in attendance at
church service.

He was still a young student when the roar
of a wicked war resounded through eastern
France. Prussia had seized a chance to
fight for rich lands there which she wished
for her own. The French army was not so
large or so well trained as that of Prussia.
Its commanders were timid and fearful. Its

200 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

cannon were not powerful. Prussia, on the
other hand, had generals full of daring who
had faith in themselves and their troops.
Plentiful supplies of ammunition, and guns
of great power had been made ready.

So the French failed in attack after attack
till at last there was nothing to do but sur-
render. Thus it happened in the early
autumn of 1870 that a sad company rode
forth from the old fortress of Sedan in north-
ern France to make terms with the enemy.

First came the bodyguard of the Emperor
Louis Napoleon. Their polished arms shone
in the sunlight. They wore helmets of steel.
Bright pennants waved from their lances.
Behind them rode the Emperor in an open
carriage. He was ill in body and suffering
great physical pain; he could not live long.
But the lines in his thin cheeks and the sad-
ness in his eyes showed that he was sick in
mind as well as in body, and that his heart
was heavy with the sorrow of a shameful
defeat. Last in the procession was a band
of Prussian hussars clattering in steel armor.

In the company attending Louis Napoleon

FERDINAND FOCH 201

on his unhappy errand that day was the
youth Ferdinand Foch, so we have been
told. He had left his studies when the war
broke out and was now a cadet in the Em-
peror's staff at Sedan.

On rode the little procession till it reached
the Chateau Bellevue where the King of
Prussia sat waiting for its arrival.

Louis Napoleon, with his guard about
him, entered the reception hall. The Ger-
man officers rose when he stood before them,
with the courtesy due so great a man. Not
so the Prussian King. He remained seated,
looking up scornfully. There was no thought
in his mind now, evidently, that only a
short time ago he had been treated royally
by the Emperor when he visited him in
Paris. Ah ! that had been before this hate-
ful war, and to-day he was a proud victor.

Standing there, bent with pain, Louis
Napoleon drew his blade and handed the
hilt to the conqueror.

'Sire," he said, "here is my sword.'1

'I take it," replied the King in an insolent
voice. And then, "I give it back to you/3

202 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

The young officer Ferdinand Foch listened
with flashing eyes and drew a long breath.
So did the rest of the ruler's staff, at hearing
him spoken to with such contempt. Never
would they forget the insulting voice, the
insulting manner. Sometime the punish-
ment would come to Prussia — it must
come — for her treatment of France this
day!

So thought young Foch. 'The Prussian
King meant, Til take care of you/ when
he spoke as he did to our Emperor/3 he
said many years afterwards. That insolent
king, as it happened, was the grandfather of
William Hohenzollern, the Emperor of Ger-
many who, as we know, led his people into
this last war, the greatest and most terrible
in history.

And William Hohenzollern, as we also
know, has shown the same overbearing
manner as his grandfather — cruel and
without mercy, and daring to set himself
up as a god among his fellow men.

With the end of the short and hateful
war the city of Metz was left in the hands

FERDINAND FOCI I 203

of the Prussians. For many years Ferdinand
Foch was to think of it with sorrow. He
had spent happy months there in the Jesuit
school. He had wandered freely through
its noble streets and fine parks. He had
worshiped in its grand cathedral. But
now Prussian soldiers stood on guard behind
its strong walls; the hated Prussian tongue
was spoken in its streets; and in one of the
principal places the statue of the Prussian
King was set up for all to admire. Little
desire could the French patriot have to con-
tinue his studies there after the war had
ended.

Accordingly he took his examinations as
quickly as possible for entrance into the
great Polytechnic Institute at Paris.

Shortly afterwards he was busy with his
studies there and living very simply, because
he had little money to spend for either
food or clothing. Many a time, so it has
been said, he made a meal on black bread
alone. Little this troubled him, however,
for his mind was being fed with the riches
of knowledge. Moreover, he was happy in

204 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

strong faith in God's goodness. 'God is
guiding me," he felt, "so all will be well."

When a little boy Ferdinand had eagerly
listened to stories about Napoleon. He
was only twelve years old, in fact, when he
read a long history of what had taken place
under Napoleon's rule. It was such " heavy '
reading, as we say, that most boys would
have been frightened away at the first page.
But young Foch kept on to the end.

"One can learn much about carrying on
war by studying the campaigns of Napo-
leon,'3 the youth still thought when he
entered the Polytechnic Institute. Napo-
leon, on the very next day after being
crowned, had given the school its motto:
"Science and glory — all for the country.'5

Among Ferdinand's fellow students at
the Institute was the young man, Joseph
Joffre, who had entered it before the war
and left his studies to fight for his country.
Now he had returned to finish his course,
and for the first time met his neighbor from
the Southland.

In those days Paris was not a happy place.

FERDINAND KOCH 205

Everywhere about were ruined buildings,
marks of the siege it had suffered from the
Germans. And when young Foch turned
his eyes to the hilltops around, he could
imagine the hated German troops stationed
there as they had been a few months before.

Oddly enough, Ferdinand had a constant
reminder of his childhood on the walls of
the building where he had his room. It
was the selfsame inscription that had been
placed over the door of his first school in
Tarbes: 'May this house remain standing
until the ant has drunk all the waves of the
sea and the tortoise has crawled around the
world."

After graduating from the Polytechnic
Institute young Foch went to other famous
schools where he received training in cav-
alry and artillery. From time to time he
stopped in his studies to act as an officer of
artillery in different garrisons.

When he was twenty-seven years old he
was made a captain. Eight years after-
wards he entered the Superior School of
War, the highest one of the kind in France,

206 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

and from this he graduated, fourth in his
class, in 1887.

After this came more training in garrisons.
Foch was learning, we see, all that could be
gained by study and training how best to
carry on war if it should ever talce place.

At last, in the year 1890, he was chosen
to be an instructor at the War College. He
had become by this time a major.

A great work opened before him. From
its beginning he was on fire to make the
students under him understand the meaning
of war - - to see it for themselves - - to live
it. Thus, as he talked to them in the great
classroom, the maps spread out before them
changed into actual battle fields. The dots
and lines became hills and valleys and flow-
ing streams. They themselves were ad-
venturing among them. Behind yonder
wood the army of the enemy was encamped.
On the hillside above, the guns of the enemy
were sending forth torrents of shot and
shell. Danger surrounded them. They drew
long, excited breaths. Their cheeks flushed.
Their eyes were aflame. Paris, with its

FERDINAND FOCH 207

gay streets and noise of business, seemed
far away. They were, in their minds, in
the thick of combat, and their leader was the
slim man with strong keen eyes who stood
before them. How honest and determined
was this man! How dear to him was
his country and theirs- -beautiful France!
Every student was fired by him with the
longing to become a faithful patriot in
defending this revered land.

'Why had the Prussians won so easy a
victory?' Ferdinand Foch asked his pupils.
Then he showed them that the Prussians
had faith in themselves, while the French
officers lacked such faith. This was the
main reason the enemy met with success,
though making many foolish mistakes.

"A battle is not lost till you think it is
lost/3 So Foch taught his students.

Again, he showed them that giving com-
mands is only one step in the course of an
officer's training. He must see that the com-
mand is carried out. He must, moreover,
understand bow it shall be carried out, and
he must have faith in the outcome.

208 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

Foch believed that without "morale"
there would be failure. What is morale?
We have heard this word used a great deal
of late, but many people find it hard to state
just what it means. We know what strength
and health are to the body. So morale is
to the mind. A person who has morale has
a healthy mind. No dragons of fear have
a place there. No thought of failure is
allowed to enter. The mind is strong. It
sees only success ahead ; and in the present,
work — steady, determined work towards
that success.

So Foch taught his students. They must
make their brains work. Not words alone,
not carrying out orders alone, were ever
enough. Not the blind obedience of the
dog and the horse! But the keen, quick
perception of why they must do certain
things. And when they watched the moves
of the enemy they must ask themselves,
'Why are my foes acting as they do? Just
what is their purpose?' Striving thus to
understand, the officers' minds keep clear
and their will is steadied.

FERDINAND KOCH 200

You can readily see what kind ot men left
the War College after being under such
training as Foch gave. Many of his pupils,
we are told, have won glory and honor in the
War against War which we have just passed
through.

First of all he impressed upon them that
they must learn to think. ' You officers,'3 he
said to them, 'will be asked later on to be
the brains of an army. Never complain of
the difficulty of a problem. If a problem
were not difficult it would not be a problem.
Our brains were made to be worked. Other-
wise, what purpose do they serve?'

Again he said: 'Victory goes to those
who merit it by the greatest will power as
well as by the keenest intellect/1

The will to victory!' In all his teachings
Foch showed the need of this and what it
would accomplish. He believed it, and be-
cause of this he made his students believe it.

Foch was a quiet man in all his ways.
In course of time he married, and had chil-
dren whom he loved dearly and in whose
life he was deeply interested. But he did

210 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

not care for the balls and other gay enter-
tainments which many of his friends and
acquaintances enjoyed. When, once in a
while, he attended a dinner party he spoke
little.

In 1901 he was made a lieutenant colonel
and left the Superior College of War to take
command of one of the French garrisons.
Two years later he was made a colonel and
sometime afterwards a brigadier general.

Then, in 1907, Clemenceau, the prime
minister, sent for him to attend a council
on war matters. When it was over, he
turned to Foch and asked him to take
luncheon with him.

As the two chatted together over their
coffee, Clemenceau said lightly, 'Oh, by
the way, I have a bit of news for you. It
may interest you to know that your name
is proposed as Director of the Superior
School of War."

'I!' exclaimed Foch in astonishment.
He knew well that many French officers of
high family, and having what Americans
call "pull" were anxious to gain the position.

FERDINAND FOCI I 211

'Why," he continued, "I am not even a
candidate. It's impossible. And besides,
I fear you do not know about my family.
What would the politicians say if they were
to learn that the Director of the Superior
School of War is of a religious family,
to whom the church is of tremendous
moment ? You many not know it, but my
brother is a Jesuit! Think of it, a Jesuit

A. I "

priest!

Now, Clemenceau was opposed to the
Catholic church. Nevertheless he believed
that Ferdinand Foch would make the best
Director of the War College, and fully
deserved the honor of that high office. So
he answered shortly, 'All the Jesuits in the
world could not alter the fact that you are
to be Director of the War College."

So the matter was settled, and Foch
took chief command of the Superior School
of War.

He set to work at once to make important
improvements there. Under him the train-
ing of young officers became better than
ever before. He had already written two

212 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

valuable books on the art of war, which
were widely read and studied, not only in
France, but in Germany.

In 1911 he received the order to take
command of a division of troops at Chau-
mont. The next year a whole corps was
given into his charge. Soon afterwards he
held a post of great honor in the French
army: he was commander of the Twentieth
Corps, stationed at Nancy, not far from the
borders of Germany.

Nancy was a gay and beautiful city.
But during his stay there General Foch had
no time to take part in its gay life. He was
busy trying to make the place strong against
any possible attacks from Germany.

"When she does attack France her troops
will first strike against this stronghold," he
said to himself.

While Foch was in command at Nancy, a
young captain under him there wrote home
to his parents describing the General, whom
he admired very much. Among other things
the young man said: 'He is a man still
young, slender and supple, and rather frail;

FERDINAND FOCH 213

his powerful head seems like a flower too
heavy for a stem so light. "

When the captain wrote that Foch was
still young, he was almost sixty-three years
old. Yet he was so quick and active in his
movements that he made those around him
think of him as a young man.

The captain also wrote of the light in the
General's eyes, of the clearness of his gaze,
of his great energy, of his direct speech,
and of his strong faith in our Heavenly
Father.

"General Foch," he said, 'is a prophet
whom his God transports."

Afterwards, it may be said, the young
officer who wrote this letter gladly gave his
life for his country while fighting under
General Foch.

During the latter part of July, 1914, Foch
was given a furlough to visit his home at
Morlaix where his two daughters with their
little children were staying with his wife.
His daughters' husbands, also with the
army, obtained leave of absence at the same
time. Such a happy family gathering it

214 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

was for the next few days, with no thought
of trouble!

Then suddenly General Foch was recalled
to Nancy. Joffre, who had become the
French Generalissimo, had scented danger
over the borderland. If the German hordes
were preparing to attack France, in what
way would they advance, Joffre asked
himself. From the east, of course, he
decided.

And so Foch thought. Why, in what
other way could they come? To be sure
there were strong French forts there — at
Toul and Verdun — and Nancy was strongly
defended. A big army like that of Germany
could not make its way quickly into France
from the east.

But in what other way could it enter
France? Surely not from the north, be-
cause that would make it necessary for the
German army to pass through Belgium on
its way! The Emperor of Germany was,
of course, too honorable to allow this.

So it was quite natural for Joffre to pre-
pare for the defense of France on the east

FERDINAND FOCI I 215

first of all, and order Foch to be ready with
his troops at Nancy.

On the fourth of August the terrible war
broke out. It happened to be General
Foch's birthday. He was sixty-three years
old. On came the Germans, divided into
five armies, and expecting to overcome the
French troops and take Paris by the first
of September. Only one of those armies
was directed against Nancy. The others
headed north and swarmed into Belgium!

And Foch ? When that one German army
advanced over the eastern borderland he was
ready for its coming. No doubt the German
commander expected him to defend it, but
nevertheless he expected also to quickly
rout the French troops stationed there.

Now Foch believed that the best way to
defend is to attack. Without delay, there-
fore, his brave Twentieth Corps fought its
way through the middle of the invading
army, and straight on into German Lor-
raine. There, for fourteen days, Foch with
other brave generals kept the Germans at
bay with their troops.

216 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

Unfortunately, the other four German
armies at the north were forcing all before
them during this time.

Day after day the same story spread
among the unhappy French people: ' Re-
treat! retreat! retreat!'

"Will JofTre give no other order?' cried
those who lacked faith.

But there were officers in his army who
understood him better: when the right
place was reached and the right moment
had come, he had planned to take his stand
against the enemy. When the river Marne
should be reached the Germans must not
be allowed to advance further.

So JofTre had determined. And now he
took thought of his officers and considered
who were best fitted to be stationed at the
most dangerous points. Ah! there was
General Foch. He would create a new
army for Foch, made up of certain strong
divisions taken from the other armies. It
should be called the Ninth Army. He
promptly ordered Foch to report at a place
on the Marne called Chalons.

FERDINAND KOCH 217

When Foch reached Chalons his new army
existed only on paper.

"What do you mean?' you may say.
Just this: the different divisions that were
to form it were still on their way to Foch.
He did not even know where some of them
were, because at that very time they were
retreating before the enemy. Neither did
he know how well supplied they were with
arms, or how tired the men had become
from fighting and the hurried march.

Was Foch sick at heart when he con-
sidered these things? Not so! he had
taught in the War College that we fail only
when we think we fail. Also he believed
now as before that the only way for an
army to defend itself is by attack. The
present was a good time to show this.

Not a minute was lost. He must get
acquainted with his army as it gathered.
He must understand how strong it was and
how weary were the men who were to carry
out his orders. The feet of many of them
were blistered and bleeding from the long,
hurried march; their bodies were aching.

218 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

He must see that their courage was kept up.
Then they would forget their lameness and
pain in the will to win.

Up and down the sidewalk of the little
village paced the restless General as he
made his plans. He was short in stature
and lean in body. But these things were
scarcely noted by the people who looked
in his face. How keen were those gray
eyes! How strong the nose! How deter-
mined the chin! Such a will as that of
Ferdinand Foch would do much in break-
ing the power of the enemy.

The Battle of the Marne opened early in
September, 1914, only a month after the
beginning of the war. For five days the
French troops met one sharp attack after
another, though the enemy were much
greater in number. Back and forth rolled
the tide of war. On all sides were the dead
and dying. Terrible was the danger to the
Allies. If they gave way, the German
hordes could easily press on to Paris, the
heart of France. And then -

But to Foch, posted with his Ninth Army

FERDINAND KOCH 219

at one of the most important and danger-
ous points, there was no then. He saw
only the present and its great need.

He had sorrows of his own at this time.
He was not able to get word from his son
and the husband of one of his daughters.
He feared for their lives. Soon, alas, he
was to learn that both had been killed in
battle near the Belgian border. But now,
noiv, he must think only of France. And
France must be saved.

Considering closely, he decided there
must be a gap in the German army. That
gap must be filled in with French artillery.
Quick now! Not a moment must be lost
in pressing that artillery forward. As a
powerful wedge it must enter the gap in the
German army and break it apart.

For five days already the enemy had been
battering against the French troops with
greater and greater force. Their lines were
already breaking. Yet now, though matters
looked so discouraging, Foch saw light.

With faith that there was a weak point
in the army of the enemy, he sent this tele-

220 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

gram to Joffre: "My center gives way, my
right recedes, the situation is excellent. I
shall attack."

His order for the day, given as quietly as
he would have said "Good morning/3 was
this: "The situation is excellent. I order
a vigorous resumption of the offensive/3

How ridiculous this would seem to many!
But not to Ferdinand Foch,with the thought
of his left still strong and full of fire. Against
its foes it now flung itself and was soon
driving them backward in confusion. The
fortunes of France had been turned by what
seemed a miracle. France was saved!

And Foch - - was he pacing restlessly
back and forth at this time, excitedly wait-
ing for news of the battle ? Not so ! Having
made his plans and given his commands, it
was his duty to keep calm and leave the
rest to God's will. So he set out with one
companion for a stroll along the country
roads that stretched back from the battle
front. As he walked, he talked quietly of
other things than war. Such was his power
over himself.

FERDINAND FOCH 221

From that day the Germans retreated
slowly but surely. Foch's will had helped
Joftre in his utmost need and brought vic-
tory in place of defeat. Is it strange that
after the Battle of the Marne the comman-
der-in-chief said of this strong, wise helper,
'He is the first strategist in Europe, and the
humblest of men"?

Before that battle Foch had been little
heard of in the world. But when shortly
afterwards he was made a Marshal of
France and a member of the Legion of
Honor because of the great work he had
done, his name was coupled with that of
Joseph Joffre on every tongue.

One day, a few months after the famous
battle, Foch happened to be seated at a
dinner table with some of his officers. They
drew him into talk about the Marne.

As he \vent on describing it, he spread
out some matches on the table. He made
them represent the two armies - - the Ger-
man and the French. To one particu-
larly brave division of his o\vn troops, the
Forty-second, which was nearly dead from

222 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

weariness, but full of fire, he gave only half
a match. He made it move under his fingers
as he described its forcing back a German
corps. After it, he said, "We launched
some played-out troopers. It was all we
had left."

Then Foch lifted the half-match of the
Forty-second Division and tossed it over

to the center of the table.

'It might succeed," he said; "it might

fail. It succeeded. The men were on their
last legs, they hadn't an ounce of strength
left. They marched all the same."

One of Foch's officers has written a book
about him. After telling of his courage at
the Battle of the Marne, he went on : " But
what I can least of all forget is his look
which reveals his whole soul.

'Back of its invincible energy was a
sorrowful tenderness, a great melancholy.
At certain moments his eyes seemed to say,
: Young man, you do not know what a father
suffers when mourning has entered his house
forever. They have taken my son, and
one of my daughters is a widow. In the

FERDINAND FOCH 223

home which I left in the joy of a summer
Sunday I shall find little orphans who will
not know their papa.

"'Our France has been torn and mangled.
There are thousands and thousands of
fathers like me who have lost everything
they loved, all the hope of their lives. My
heart is with them. I know what it means Vs

In less than a month after the Germans
had been driven back at the Marne, Joffre
sent a telegram to Foch, saying that he had
chosen him to be his Associate General-
issimo. In other words Foch was to share
with Joffre the command of the army.

'Leave at once for the north, where you
are to take charge of all the troops there/3
Such was the order which Foch hastened to
obey.

When the telegram came he well under-
stood the great danger that now threatened
France. The Germans had been turned
back at the Marne from advancing to Paris.
Now they were seeking to reach the sea on
the north and cut off the ports there from
the British and the French. If they sue-

224 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

ceeded they could prevent supplies from
reaching the armies of the Allies. They
could also prevent the coming of fresh
troops from England.

Foch knew that not a single moment
must be lost. Springing into an automobile
at ten o'clock that night, he rode as fast
as possible to the headquarters of different
generals who were to help him band together
a strong army. That army, under him, must
cut off the enemy's forces in their race to the
sea.

Working with a will, he made his army so
united and strong that it proved to be a
mighty wall in the pathway of its foes,
and they were blocked at Ypres and after-
wards at Flanders. For two weeks the
fighting was terrific. The Germans made
one fierce attack after another, but the
troops of the Allies, with Foch to lead them
on, met each attack with a return attack.

'Our enemies must not, shall not, gain
the coast," so the great leader had decided.
Then, cool as ever, he flew from one place
to another with a smile half hidden by his

FERDINAND FOCH 225

big gray moustache and carelessly chewing
the end of a cigar.

At this trying time he gave wise advice to
King Albert of Belgium and to the English
commander, Marshal French. He helped
both to feel that they were sure to win.
He seemed to be everywhere at once, giving
aid when it was most needed.

One night he heard that the English
cavalry had given way and lost an impor-
tant position. He sprang into his car and
hastened to the headquarters of Marshal
French. It was one o'clock when he
reached it. The Marshal was asleep.

Waking him up, he said, ' Marshal,
your line is broken."

"Yes," was the reply.

"Have you any reserves?' Foch asked
quickly.

"No, I have nothing."

"Good! I offer you mine. The gap must
be filled at once. If we allow our line to be
pierced at a single point we are lost by
reason of the masses of attack of our enemy.
General Joffre has sent me eight battalions

226 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

of the Thirty-second Division. Take them
and on with the fray."

The Marshal, deeply moved, rose and
seized Foch's hand. "Thank you!" he
exclaimed. 'This is famous help."

In an hour the order had been given and
the gap in the lines had been filled.

At another time Foch gave help like this
to the Belgian army. Then, to add more
courage, he said to its leader, "You must
hold out at any cost. See! Here is a
line for you to hold."

With these words he spread out a map.
Pointing to a place where there was an
embankment, he showed where water could
be let in from locks not far away. If this
were done, the oncoming Germans would
slump in the marsh thus made, and their
advance would be checked. Foch's quick
wit had seen this. His advice was fol-
lowed, and the day was saved.

Then, in 1916, came the Battle of the
Somme, when Foch's careful plans were so
well carried out that the Allies swept the
Germans back, took a wide stretch of

FERDINAND FOCH 227

country, and captured great numbers of
prisoners.

Foch, as we know, had helped the Bel-
gians and the British in times of great need.
He also aided the Italian army when it was
sore pressed. More than a year before
this happened he had looked ahead and
formed the plan by which he was afterwards
able to aid them.

After the Battle of the Somme all the
world rang with the name of the hero,
Ferdinand Foch.

1 He is the greatest soldier the world has
ever known," cried some. 'How strange/3
they said, "that a man who did scarcely any
active fighting till now when he is old,
should understand it better than generals
who have been engaged in many wars!'

Most people would have become proud
at such renown. But not so Marshal Foch,
the man of few words, who was almost
shy when he found himself in large gather-
ings. It troubled him to be pointed out
and talked about as a great hero. Joffre was
right in calling him the humblest of men.

228 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

Though the Battle of the Somme had
brought success to the Allies, many dark
days and months followed, in which they
were seldom strong enough to attack the
enemy, though they steadily kept up the
defense.

Then the day came when noble, patient
Marshal Joffre gave up command of the
French army. He felt as well as others that
the war might keep on for many years if
the Allies used only methods of defense.
Some one who could see more clearly how
best to attack should be chosen in his
place.

On May 15, 1917, while Joffre was in the
United States, General Foch was made head
of the General Staff. For some time he had
had hard work keeping up courage in his
tired soldiers. But lately good news had
come.

'The Americans are with us at last ! they
are sending us aid! Not only supplies of
food and ammunition are on the way but
men — fresh, brave, strong men/' So the
words passed from one troop to another, and

FERDINAND FOCH 229

the weary French soldiers drew breaths of
relief.

Shipload after shipload of American troops
went speeding across the Atlantic. Regi-
ment after regiment of straight, active sol-
diers landed in France.

Surely the cruel Huns could be overcome
now! Yet one thing more was needed
unity. There was the British army eager
to do its best, with brave fighters from far
Australia and New Zealand, India, and
Africa in its ranks. There were the French
troops fired with the thought that France
must be saved. There was brave little
Belgium, still eager to do her share, and in
the southland was the army of Italy doing
wonderful deeds of daring. The leaders
of all were wise men. But there was no
one head to look the field over and direct
all the different lines as parts of one great
body.

Germany had such a leader; but not so
the Allies.

'We must have a Generalissimo, the
Commander of all/3 declared Wilson, the

230 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

President of the United States. Lloyd
George, the British Prime Minister, agreed
with him. So did Clemenceau, the French
Premier.

Who should be chosen for the important
post? None other than Ferdinand Foch,
wise and far-seeing, the man who set the
souls of his soldiers on fire for victory.

Without question he was chosen. Quietly
he took charge of the great undertaking,
with faith in God that success would come.
Germany was fighting for might. The
Allies were fighting for right. This war,
then, was to Ferdinand Foch Christ's
war. Peace must be brought about on
this earth — a lasting peace, and good will
among men.

Never was the busiest day too busy for
the great general to be kept from kneeling
in prayer an hour each night and morning in
order that he might draw strength from
God for the tasks before him.

One day, when the fight was raging at its
worst, a young American soldier who was
off duty was wandering about a little French

FERDINAND KOCH 281

village not far behind the battle front. He
came to an old empty church and stepped
inside to look around. As he stood there
\vith bared head, another man entered. He
was old and gray-haired. He wore a uni-
form that was worn and shabby. The
eagles on the shoulders of his coat showed
that he must be a general. No staff of
officers attended him, however - - only an
orderly bore him company.

The young soldier gave little heed to the
old man except to observe that he knelt in
deep prayer, and that he remained so for a
long time - - three quarters of an hour
perhaps. Then he arose and softly left the
church.

The young American followed him out
and down the street. There, to his sur-
prise, he noticed that people drew to one
side as the general passed, gazing at him
with wondering eyes. The American saw
also that soldiers whom he met saluted him
excitedly, as though honoring some one far
above ordinary officers.

It was Ferdinand Foch, Generalissimo of

232 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

the armies of the Allies in the greatest and
most terrible war of all times. While he
prayed in that church millions of men were,
at his command, offering their lives in the
trenches; at his word generals were hurry-
ing from place to place to carry out his
orders; mighty guns were hurling defiance
against the enemy. And yet, in the midst
of terrific happenings, this 'Gray man of
Christ' as he has since been called, had
sought the quiet little village church to
draw strength and clearness of sight from
his Heavenly Father.

Even after General Pershing with his
brave American troops came to the help of
the Allies, there was a long, hard struggle
ahead of them.

Germany had seen that with the coming
of the Americans, her army must fight
harder than ever and must lose no time in
doing so. And why? Because the strength
of those whom she was opposing was steadily
growing with the arrival of shipload after
shipload of fresh, spirited soldiers from
across the Atlantic. Moreover, the Huns

FERDINAND KOCH

learned that, if necessary, the United States
would send five million men to resist them.
Now or never, then, Germany must win.

And so, in the early spring of 1918, she
began a terrific offensive - - first, mainly in
the north against the British troops, and
afterwards along a battle front of more than
four hundred miles.

One frightful attack followed another.
But Foch, the wise Generalissimo, was busy,
not only with the terrible present, but also
in making plans for the future and preparing
to carry them out.

At last - - it was the middle of July - - he
saw that the time was ripe for an offensive
of his own.

The Germans were still making fierce as-
saults, but the Allies fought bravely for the
positions they had taken and destroyed
one advancing wave after another. British,
French, Italian, and American troops were
all busy, meeting the onrush of the enemy
and capturing important points by attacks
both on the ground and in the air. Then -
it was on July 15 - - the German commander

2% LEADERS TO LIBERTY

took a daring stand at a place which laid
him open to great danger.

Foch had expected he would do so and was
rejoiced. 'I am satisfied," he said.

Shortly afterwards came the beginning of
the end of the Great War.

It was of no use, Foch had decided, to try
to advance all along the many miles of
battle front at once. To begin with, the
Allies did not have enough guns.

"I must strike many blows, one after
another," thought the Generalissimo, 'and
at places where my enemies are least likely
to expect them. After one attack is started
the next one must follow in a different spot
as soon afterwards as possible. The Huns
must have no time to rest. They must be
tired out by the constant strain put on
them."

Many weeks went by in which the attacks
of the Allies were made more and more often,
and with greater and greater speed. Thou-
sands upon thousands of brave soldiers were
killed in these attacks, because Foch saw
that the time had come when he must not

FERDINAND FOCH

think most of saving the lives of his men.
He must consider victory only - - victory
to be won as quickly as possible.

Long afterwards, when that victory had
been gained, he was asked, 'How did you
turn the German offensive into bitter
defeat?"

He replied: :You ask me to tell you in a
few words. Victories are won by science.
That is true; but also by faith. When one
has faith, one does not retire; one stops the
enemy where one finds him.

:You tell me that I gave victory to
France. It was our admirable soldiers who
gave it. I have but one merit - - that of
never despairing.'3

With faith, therefore, in final success,
Foch steadily planned and strove for that
success, and with the coming of late autumn
the Huns were in full retreat. So fast had
the Allies borne down upon them that re-
serve troops and needed supplies could not
be brought up in time. Fear seized their
hearts. Faith in their leaders fled. Belief
in victory departed.

236 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

Then came a glad day, November u,
1918, for millions of people and for their
savior, Ferdinand Foch.

The news had spread that Germany had
given up hope and had asked for an armis-
tice. Her delegates had been sent to plead
for her. They traveled over the very road
near Sedan where in 1870 the French Em-
peror had ridden to offer his sword to the
German conquerors. But how differently
the delegates of the enemy were treated
from the way the ruler of France had been
received by the Germans in 1870.

These delegates received every courtesy.
As they rode on their way French officers
guided them over the dark roads through a
stretch of forests till they reached a stopping
place for the night. The next day they
were still guided as they went on with their
journey towards Senlis. There, waiting for
them in a railway car, was Marshal Foch,
the man who had attended the French
Emperor on his unhappy mission years ago.
Then he was young and unknown. Now he
was old and gray-haired and a generalissimo.

FERDINAND FOCI-I

Moreover, he was sure that the German
army was at last completely in his power.
Suppose he refused the armistice! In a few
days more, at the latest, the enemy must
surrender or be destroyed. But if the
struggle were allowed to go on for even
those few days it would cost the lives of
more of his brave soldiers. Not one of
them, he felt, must be sacrificed without
need. So, for their sakes, he would agree to
the armistice, but it must be one whose
terms meant victory for the Allies.

He had carefully prepared the only terms
on which this could be granted when the
German delegates entered the car. Marshal
P'och rose to receive them.

'What do you wish, gentlemen?' he
asked calmly.

'We have come, Marshal, to arrange
terms of an armistice," was the answer.

Then, quietly, Foch read the terms on
which the Allies would be willing to agree
to an armistice. Hard terms they were;
only a country which had been completely
defeated would accept them. But Germany,

238 LEADERS TO LIBERTY

as Foch felt sure, bad been completely de-
feated and would accept these terms. Once
accepted, a world peace would be sure to
follow.

He was not scornful in his reading, how-
ever, though he well remembered the day
when his own ruler had been so treated at
a time like this. But joyful he must have
been. He had worked for nearly fifty years
that his country might never again suffer
what she had then suffered. Now, at last,
his reward had come.

During the general rejoicing that fol-
lowed the ever-to-be remembered day many
honors were bestowed upon Marshal Foch.
Among them was the gift of the Ameri-
can Distinguished Service Medal. General
Pershing, the American Commander, pinned
it upon the Generalissimo's breast in the
name of President Wilson and the United
States, It was a token of the gratitude of
the American people for what Foch had
done for them and for all the world.

As the Marshal received the gift, he said,
"I will wear this medal with pleasure and

FERDINAND FOCH 239

pride in the days of triumph, as well as in
dark and critical hours.'3

Then he added other beautiful words,
showing his appreciation of the help Persh-
ing and the American army had given in the
time of need.

On that day, as at all other times, Ferdi-
nand Foch showed that pride had no place
in his heart. As different as light is from
darkness he has always been from William
the Second of Germany, who believed so
strongly in his own power that he actually
put himself beside God. Foch, on the
other hand, the great conqueror in the
cause of right, has claimed but this: 'I
am God's instrument. It is for me only to
try as best I may to do His will/3

Jh,

•